Assignment: Bioinformatics Human Genomic Sequence Exercises

Assignment: Bioinformatics Human Genomic Sequence Exercises

A genome sequence is not an end in itself. A major challenge still has to be met in understanding what the genome contains and how the genome functions. The former is addressed by a combination of computer analysis and experimentation, with the primary aim of locating the genes and their control regions. The first part of this chapter is devoted to these methods. The second question – understanding how the genome functions – is, to a certain extent, merely a different way of stating the objectives of molecular biology over the last 30 years. The difference is that in the past attention has been directed at the expression pathways for individual genes, with groups of genes being considered only when the expression of one gene is linked to that of another. Now the question has become more general and relates to the expression of the genome as a whole. The techniques used to address this topic will be covered in the latter parts of this chapter.

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7.1. Locating the Genes in a Genome Sequence
Once a DNA sequence has been obtained, whether it is the sequence of a single cloned fragment or of an entire chromosome, then various methods can be employed to locate the genes that are present. These methods can be divided into those that involve simply inspecting the sequence, by eye or more frequently by computer, to look for the special sequence features associated with genes, and those methods that locate genes by experimental analysis of the DNA sequence. The computer methods form part of the methodology called bioinformatics, and it is with these that we begin.

7.1.1. Gene location by sequence inspection
Sequence inspection can be used to locate genes because genes are not random series of nucleotides but instead have distinctive features. These features determine whether a sequence is a gene or not, and so by definition are not possessed by non-coding DNA. At present we do not fully understand the nature of these specific features, and sequence inspection is not a foolproof way of locating genes, but it is still a powerful tool and is usually the first method that is applied to analysis of a new genome sequence.

The coding regions of genes are open reading frames
Genes that code for proteins comprise open reading frames (ORFs) consisting of a series of codons that specify the amino acid sequence of the protein that the gene codes for (see Figure 1.17). The ORF begins with an initiation codon – usually (but not always) ATG – and ends with a termination codon: TAA, TAG or TGA (Section 3.3.2). Searching a DNA sequence for ORFs that begin with an ATG and end with a termination triplet is therefore one way of looking for genes. The analysis is complicated by the fact that each DNA sequence has six reading frames, three in one direction and three in the reverse direction on the complementary strand (Figure 7.1), but computers are quite capable of scanning all six reading frames for ORFs. How effective is this as a means of gene location?

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

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Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource