9.4 Bioinformatics

bioinformatics

a discipline at the intersection of biology and computing, that analyzes gene and protein sequence data

multilocus sequence typing (MLST)

a diagnostic DNA sequencing method that types multiple genetic loci to identify strain variability

annotation

interpreting the information in genome sequences, including identifying genes and predicting gene function; requires computers to predict DNA sequence patterns

open reading frames (ORF)

a DNA sequence predicted by various sequence cues to encode a protein

orthologs

a gene present in more than one species that is encodes the same function in each different species

paralogs

arises when one gene (or set of genes) duplicates in a single species and one gene copy evolves to carry out a function thats different from the other copies

functional genomics

uses data from genomic research to describe the relationships between genes, proteins, and protein functions

genomic island

a section of DNA sequence that appears to have originated by horizontal transfer but no longer shows mobility; generally contains many genes for a specific function

pathogenicity island

a genomic island that encodes virulence factors; found in pathogenic strains but not in nonpathogenic strains; result from horizontal gene transfers