BIOC0030

Bioinformatics Workshop - From Genes to Proteins

This workshop will lead you through some of the main Bioinformatics concepts regarding prediction of gene regulation as well as taking you from genes to proteins. It will ensure that you know how to use some of the most fundamental Bioinformatics resources (BLAST and UniProt).

Introduction

We all know that DNA codes for RNA which codes for protein, but only around 2% of our genome encodes protein sequences. The process of transciption is highly regulated and mediated by transcription factors. RNA must also be processed - this involves splicing out of introns and addition of a poly-A tail. Genes can also undergo alternative splicing.

While only present in about 24% of human genes, one of the most basic form of transcription regulation is the presence of a TATA box within the core promoter.

In this workshop, you will:

identify potential promoters and TATA boxes in the sequence
identify potential poly-adenylation sites
use BLAST to identify the gene
use UniProt to find out about the protein for which the gene encodes
determine whether a structure has been solved for this protein

Instructions

First you must download a DNA sequence which we will explore. Click the button. This will open a new tab or window. Save the resulting sequence data to a file, or keep this tab/window open so you can cut and paste the data.

Download the DNA »

The DNA with which you have been supplied represents the complete coding sequence for a gene, including some upstream regulatory regions.

Use the menu at the top of the page to navigate the sections of the practical. Work along each item in turn, or use the "Continue" button at the bottom of each page.
Read all the information on each page! It's there for a reason!!!
A link displayed like this will display a pop-up with more information.

Warning! You must record information as you go along where instructed to do so. This will enable you to answer the questions in the quiz at the end of the workshop.

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