Bioinformatics

Abstract

The course introduces concepts of bioinformatics starting from first principles: DNA sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree inference, genome annotation, protein structure and function prediction. Key methods and algorithms are covered, including dynamic programming, Markov and Hidden Markov models, and molecular dynamics simulations. Practical applications and limitations are discussed.

Objective

The course aims at introducing the fundamental concepts and methods of bioinformatics. Emphasis is given to a deep understanding of the methods' foundations and limitations to enable critical evaluations and applications of bioinformatics tools in areas such as biotechnology and systems biology.

Content

From "Understanding Bioinformatics":
Chapter 4: Producing and Analyzing Sequence Alignments
Chapter 5: Pairwise Sequence Alignment and Database Searching
Chapter 6: Patterns, Profiles, and Multiple Alignments
Chapter 7: Recovering Evolutionary History
Chapter 8: Building Phylogenetic Trees
Chapter 9: Revealing Genome Features
Chapter 10: Gene Detection and Genome Annotation
Chapter 11: Obtaining Secondary Structure from Sequence
Chapter 12: Predicting Secondary Structures
Chapter 13: Modeling Protein Structure
Chapter 14: Analyzing Structure-Function Relationships

From "Biological Sequence Analysis":
Sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 6.5 (Markov Chains and Hidden Markov Models)

From "A First Course in Systems Biology":
Chapter 1: Biological Systems

Literature

external page Zvelebil, Marketa, and Jeremy Baum. Understanding Bioinformatics. Garland Science, 2007.

external page Durbin R, Eddy S, Krogh A, Mitchinson G. Biological Sequence Analysis. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

external page Voit EO. A First Course in Systems Biology. Garland Science, 2012.

Course Details:  

626-0002-AAL Bioinformatics