BS33720 - GENOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS

Module Identifier	BS33720
Module Title	GENOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Michael Winson
Semester	Semester 1
Other staff	Dr Gerard Bishop, Dr Hywel Griffiths, Dr James Jefferies, Dr Leighton Pritchard, Professor Michael Young, Dr Roy Goodacre
Pre-Requisite	BS10910 or external equivalent, BS22520 , BS22720
Course delivery	Lecture	24 Hours
	Seminars / Tutorials	6 Hours
	Workshop	10 Hours 5 x 2hours workshops
Assessment	Course work	Poster presentation and essay	30%
	Exam	3 Hours Essays and data interpretation	70%
	Resit assessment	3 Hours Essays and data interpretation (plus resubmission of failed coursework or an alternative)

Aims and objectives

This module is an integrated series of lectures, seminars and workshops covering the key expanding disciplines of genomics and bioinformatics. Genomics is a family of 'information technologies' for biology that are being used to obtain interpret and exploit the complete sequences of the chromosomes and genomes of organisms ranging from bacteria to man.
Bioinformatics encompasses the methodologies (particularly computational) enabling the analysis and integration of information made available by structural, physiological taxonomic and genomic studies with the ultimate goal of assigning functions to genes. The results emerging from these two disciplines will inform new predictive strategies to identify new and useful genes and potential drug targets, understand gene behaviour, and develop novel therapeutic products. The module will provide both theoretical and practical training in laboratory-based genomics and computational biology.

Content

The lectures cover the following topics:

An introduction to genomics and bioinformatics
Information retrieval from biological databases
Fundamentals of database searching

Computational gene finding
Sequence analysis

Protein classification and functional assignment
Phylogenetic analysis
Comparative genomics
Functional genomics
Investigation of model genomes
Metabolome, transcriptome & proteome analysis
Spectroscopic analysis and data interpretation methods
Specific examples of the application of genomics and bioinformatics to ongoing research at Aberystwyth.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this applied module, students

will appreciate current research strategies for gene discovery and determation of gene function (genomics) and biological data analysis and interpretation (bioinformatics)
will have practical experience and knowledge of the concepts underlying database access, sequence analysis, protein classification and functional assignment.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Trends Supplement. (1998) Trends guide to bioinformatics. Elsevier Science.
Attwood, T.K. & Parry-Smith, D.J.. Introdution to Bioinformatics. Addison Wesley Longman Higher Education. 0582327881
Baxevanis, A.d. & Ouelletee, B.F. eds. (1998) A practical guide to the analysis of genes and proteins. Wiley.
Lewin, B.. Genes VII. Oxford University Press. 0198792778
Brown, T.A.. (1999) Genomes. Bio Scientific Publishers Ltd.