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Biological Science

Chapter 16: Genomes

Research Links

Chapter 16, "Genomes," reviewed the exciting information of a very young field. This year the completion of the Human Genome Project opened the door to enormous potential for understanding evolution, gene regulation, protein interaction, and disease. The following Websites provide a variety of information about the usefulness of analyzing our genome. Here you will visit academic and biotechnological Websites as well as scientific news articles, and you hopefully increase your comprehension of this growing field.

16.1 An Introduction to Whole-Genome Sequencing National Center for Biotechnology Information
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is a database used daily by scientists working in the field of genomics. At this site you can search for a particular gene of interest using the GenBank database or select the "human genome resources" link to learn more about our DNA.
Keywords: genomics, DNA databases, NCBI

Celera
Celera is the company that completed the sequencing of the entire human genome. This heroic effort is discussed in this article. Follow the "Celera" link to learn more about this company and the "Human Genome Project" link to read more news articles about this incredible research effort.
Keywords: Celera, Human Genome Project, research

Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes
Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes (BACs) are tools biologists use to sequence large stretches of DNA. At this site, you can review several articles that discuss this technique. The site also provides a list of resources that scientists use to learn about the existing genetic libraries and the new equipment needed to conduct their research.
Keywords: BACs, DNA libraries, research articles



16.2 Bacterial and Archaeal Genomes Lateral Transfer and Antibiotic Resistance
Bacterial plasmids enable bacterial and archaeal genomes to undergo lateral transfer, the exchange of genetic information from one bacteria to another. This article from Scientific News details the concept of lateral transfer and illustrates how and why this might allow a species of bacteria to become resistant to an antibiotic.
Keywords: lateral transfer, plasmid, antibiotic resistance

Exploiting Bacterial Genomics
Dr. Michael O'Connell from the School of Biotechnology in Dublin wrote this article describing how the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti can be used as a model for demonstrating how genomics contributes to the discovery of genes and their function. The "links" page leads to several different research institutes involved in similar work.
Keywords: bacterial genomics, applied research

Functional and Comparative Genomics
This report outlines the major advances and wealth of information that comparative genomics has had and will have in the field of plant biology. This site shows how our understanding of an organism's genome can be used for the benefit of agriculture. We can also make some predictions on how the sequencing of the human genome might be beneficial in a similar fashion.
Keywords: comparative genomics, functional genomics, agriculture

16.3 Eukaryotic Genomes Microsatellites
This site, sponsored by Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University, discusses a practical use of microsatellite DNA. The pages follow a real example of how these short regions of DNA can be used to establish heritage or solve a crime.
Keywords: microsatellite DNA, patental determination

Alternative Splicing
Scientists recently learned that the number of genes that humans were predicted to have was much greater than what was discovered in the Human Genome Project. The phenomenon of alternative splicing can account for this difference, allowing fewer genes to be recombined into many different mRNAs. This article from Arizona State University's Biology Department reviews the concept of alternative splicing and how it influences gene regulation.
Keywords: alternative splicing, Human Genome Project, gene regulation

16.4 Future Directions DNA Microarrays
The ability to quickly screen responsive genes is a powerful tool. This article about DNA microarrays, from Scientific American's February 2001 issue, reviews this fantastic new technology, its applicability to science and medicine, and its potential shortcomings.
Keywords: microarrays, biotechnology

Harvard Institute of Proteomics
This site is an excellent resource for the rapidly growing field of proteomics. Follow the "research" link to learn more about the technologies employed by this institute and to find out about the wide-reaching capabilities of this research!
Keywords: proteomics, Harvard Institute of Proteomics, biotechnology



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