20579 Bioinformatics: Analysis of Sequences and Genomes

Credits: 4 advanced credits in Life Sciences

Prerequisites: Biochemistry I, Genetics,1 Introduction to Statistics and Probability for Science Students. Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

Required: Advanced Computer Applications,2 Statistical Inference

Recommended: Biochemistry II, Differential and Integral Calculus I, Infinitesimal Calculus I

The course is based on Bioinformatics: Sequence and Genome Analysis (2nd ed.), by D.W. Mount (Cold Spring Harbor, 2004).

The course demonstrates how bioinformatics methods and tools are used to address biological questions. It surveys the theories underlying the development of methods in Bioinformatics but focuses on the practical applications of bioinformatics tools and methods.

Objectives: To understand the principal ideas underlying the major methods used in Bioinformatics; To become familiar with key bioinformatics databases and tools; To present and provide familiarity with key bioinformatics tools; To guide students in the selection of appropriate bioinformatics tools for different biological problems; To aid the student to recognize the limitations of methods and tools of Bioinformatics.

Topics: Collecting and storing sequences in the laboratory; Alignment of pairs of sequences; Multiple sequence alignment; Sequence database searching; Constructing Phylogenetic trees; RNA secondary structure prediction; Gene prediction and genome analysis; Protein classification and structure prediction; Analysis of microarrays.

The course website includes presentations to guide the students and provide them with hands-on experience in using the GCG Bioinformatics software package and other freely available web tools.


1or the previous version of the course, From Mendelism to Genetic Engineering.

2or Computer Applications for the Sciences (20126), which is no longer offered.