In this post, we’ll explore the core methods used in comparative genomics, the questions they help answer, and how they’re shaping our understanding of life.

1. Whole-Genome Alignment
Whole-genome alignment involves mapping the entire genome of one species to another. Tools like MUMmer, MAUVE, and LASTZ perform large-scale sequence alignments to detect conserved regions, rearrangements, insertions, and deletions.

Use Case:
Comparing human and chimpanzee genomes to identify evolutionary conserved sequences (ECS) and regions of divergence.

Key Challenges:
Handling repetitive sequences and genome rearrangements.

Computational complexity in large genomes.

2. Synteny and Collinearity Analysis
Synteny refers to conserved blocks of gene order across species. Tools like MCScanX, SynMap, or CHITRA (for visualizing synteny interactively) detect these blocks to understand chromosomal evolution.

Use Case:
Studying ancient genome duplications in plants.

Investigating chromosomal rearrangements in cancer genomes.

3. Ortholog and Paralog Detection
Orthologs are genes in different species that evolved from a common ancestor, while paralogs are genes duplicated within a genome. Identifying them is crucial for functional annotation and evolutionary studies.

Popular Tools:
OrthoFinder, Orthologous MAtrix (OMA), InParanoid, and EggNOG.

Use Case:
Functional prediction of uncharacterized genes based on orthologs in model organisms.

Tracing gene family evolution.

4. Phylogenomic Analysis
Phylogenomic methods combine phylogenetics and genomics to infer evolutionary trees based on genome-wide data. These methods can handle dozens to hundreds of genomes, using concatenated alignments or gene trees.

Tools:
RAxML, IQ-TREE, ASTRAL, Phylip, BEAST.

Use Case:
Resolving the evolutionary relationships between microbial species.

Studying speciation events.

5. Pan-Genome Analysis
The pan-genome consists of the core genome (shared by all strains) and the accessory genome (strain-specific genes). This is especially popular in microbial genomics.

Tools:
Roary, Panaroo, BPGA, PGAP.

Use Case:
Understanding virulence factor diversity in E. coli.

Designing broad-spectrum vaccines.

6. Comparative Transcriptomics
Comparing transcriptomes across species or conditions reveals conserved and unique expression patterns. RNA-seq data can be mapped to reference genomes to identify orthologous expression profiles.

Use Case:
Comparing stress response in extremophiles and model species.

Studying conserved regulatory networks.

7. Functional Element Comparison
Beyond genes, comparative genomics also targets non-coding regions—enhancers, promoters, miRNAs. Conservation across species often implies functional importance.

Tools:
PhastCons, GERP, phyloP (based on multiple alignments).

Use Case:
Detecting conserved non-coding elements in vertebrates.

Studying regulatory divergence in human evolution.

8. Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) Detection
In microbes, genes often jump across species boundaries. Comparative genomics can detect HGT by identifying genes that defy the expected phylogenetic pattern.

Tools:
HGTector, DarkHorse, AlienHunter, SIGI-HMM.

Use Case:
Tracing antibiotic resistance genes.

Exploring microbial adaptability in extreme environments.

Final Thoughts
Comparative genomics is a powerful lens to observe the diversity and unity of life. With a broad toolkit—from aligners to orthology pipelines, phylogenetic engines to visualization tools—it allows scientists to ask big questions: How did genomes evolve? What makes species unique? Where do new genes come from?

Whether you're studying extremophiles, building better crops, or exploring human ancestry, comparative genomics offers the methods to connect the dots across the tree of life.

Walk in interview for Research Associate, Studentship and Traineeship at BIF

Applications are invited for the Post of Research Associate, Traineeship and Studentship in the DBT sponsored Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility (BIF) at the Bioinformatics Centre, Department of RDAP, North-Eastern Hil University, Tura Campus, Tura-79402, Meghalaya. The Posts are purely temporary and terminable at any time without prior notice or assigning any reason thereof. The person engaged, shall not be entailed for any claim implicit or explicit for permanent absorption in the University.

Research Associate- 01

Essential Qualification: M.Sc. in Bioinformatics/Biotechnology from a recognized University/ institute.

Desirable: PhD or Pursuing PhD in the relevant subject(s) or equivalent published work in reputed peer reviewed journals or Advance PG diploma in Bioinformatics courses.

Duties: Creation of database, web designing, maintenance of internet, training of students in Bioinformatics, handling and knowledge of Bioinformatics software tools and technique, conducting Bioinformatics based research and other day to day laboratory work, writing report and scientific papers.

Pay:Rs. 2,00/- + Admissible 10% HRA per month

Age: Below 35 years

Traineeship- 02

Students who have completed Masters Degree in Bioinformatics/Biotechnology or any branch of Life Sciences/Agricultural Sciences/Computer Science to cary out a project work in Bioinformatics.

Desirable: Prior Knowledge of programming languages such as C, JAVA, MySQL is preferable.

Stipend: Rs. 800/- p.m. fixed. Purely temporary for a period of six months.

Studentship: 02

Students pursuing postgraduate degree in Bioinformatics/biotechnology/Agricultural Sciences or any branch of Life Science

Desirable: Prior knowledge of bioinformatics/ programming language is preferable.

Stipend: 800/- p.m. fixed. Purely temporary for a period of six months.

Candidates must send the detailed Biodata via mail/post and bring al the relevant documents in original and one set of attested photocopies of the same at the time of interview. No TA/DA will be paid for attending the interview and candidates have to make their own arrangements.

Last date for receiving application by mail or by post: 16.02.2014

Contact Information:
Dr.B.K. Mishra
Cordinator BIF,
RDAP Department, NEHU, Tura Campus
Phone: 91-03651-23107
Fax: 91-03651-23953
E-mail: drbkm1972@yaho.co.in, birendramishra14@gmail.com

Advertisement: http://www.nehu.ac.in/Advertisements/BIF_TuraAdtvPV_171214.pdf

2.Mapmygenome™
Royal Demeure,HUDA Techno Enclave,
Plot No. 12/2, Sector-1 500 081 
Madhapur,Hyderabad
AP, India

3. DNA Labs India

http://www.dnalabsindia.com/lab.php

4.MedGenome Labs Pvt Ltd
(Division of SciGenom Labs Pvt Ltd.)
Plot no: 43A,SDF, 3rd floor
A Block,CSEZ, Kakanad, Cochin
Kerala - 682037 
Phone: 0484 - 2413399
Fax: 0484 - 2413398
Email: info@medgenome.com

5.Narayana Nethralaya

Narayana Hrudayalaya Campus
Narayana Health City
# 258/A, Bommasandra, Hosur Road, 
Bangalore - 560 099 - INDIA.
TEL: +91-80-66660655-0658 
FAX: +91-80-66660650 
Mobile: 9902 821128 (Emergency Only)
e-mail: info@narayananethralaya.com

6.BioAxis DNA Research Centre Private Limited
13-51,Sri Lakshmi Nagar colony,
Besides Big Bazar, Near Kamineni Hospitals
GSI Post BandalGuda (L B Nagar) Hydeabad-500068
Andhra Pradesh (India).
Phone : +91-40-24034503/+91-9246338983

7.Gene Guiide

8th Floor, Embassy Towers, 7 Bungalows Rd, Versova, Andheri West, Mumbai-61 
 09167 117799 
 info@geneguiide.com 

See more at: http://www.geneguiide.com

8.INDIAN BIOSCIENCES
Regd. Office:
G-2 (Ground Floor Rear), Kailash Colony, New Delhi - 110048, India.
Phone: +91 (0)11 29236088, Email: info@inbdna.com.

9.SRL Limited

GP-26, MARUTI INDUSTRIAL ESTATE,

UDYOG VIHAR,SECTOR-18,

GURGAON - 122015

Tel: 0124-3001243 / 0124-3001209

SRL Limited
VASANT VIHAR, 8, PALAM MARG,
NEW DELHI - 110057
Tel: 011 - 4229 5333 

Website: http://www.srlworld.com
National Customer care number:
Call Toll Free : 1800-222-660/1800-102-8282 
E-mail id: customercare@srl.in

10.Tata Memorial Centre,

Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer

Kharghar, Navi Mumbai - 410 210, INDIA.

Tel: +91-22-2740 5000

Fax: +91-22-2740 5085

E-mail: mail@actrec.gov.in

Ref. No. GU/Estt/T/308(VI)/2014/6451-61

Applications are invited from the Indian citizens for five (5) teaching posts of Assistant Professor (Contractual) under various departments of Gauhati University. Details of the advertisement, other terms and conditions and the application forms are available in the University website www.gauhati.ac.in

Asstt. Professor (Contractual)

2. M.Sc. Microbiology Course in Botany

3 1.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biochemistry (1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Biochemistry).

2.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biotechnology(1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Bioinformatics).

3.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biotechnology(1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Microbial Genetics).

As per UGC norms

Pay Band & Academic Grade Pay : (Consolidated pay) : Rs. 21,600/- per month

Application Form : Prescribe application form may download from the G.U. website www.gauhati.ac.in

Last date of receipt of filled-in application is 08.01.2015.

Advertisement: www.gauhati.ac.in/openfile.php?file=Notice1258.pdf

Study Subject(s): PhD position is award in the field of Bioinformatics/Computer Science.
Course Level: Position is available for pursuing PhD degree level at the University of Macau.
Scholarship Provider: University of Macau
Scholarship can be taken at: China

Eligibility: The ideal candidate would be a master degree holder in Bioinformatics or related disciplines with knowledge in Medical sciences or Life sciences (with GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4-point scale or equivalent) . Knowledge in programming (C and C++) and Linux scripting are necessary; experience in molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations or molecular modeling is an advantage. The candidate should be fluent in spoken and written English; preference will be given to applicants with good publication records in relevant areas.

Scholarship Open for International Students: Researchers from China can apply for this PhD position.

Scholarship Description:

The Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Group at the University of Macau is looking for a motivated PhD student in Bioinformatics or Computer Science to work on a research project focusing on the flexible receptor protein-ligand docking algorithms for computer-aided drug design. The candidate will be working as part of a team in developing novel metaheuristic algorithms and scoring functions for large-scale, highly flexible protein-ligand docking problems.

Number of award(s): There is only one PhD position available.

Duration of award(s): The duration of this PhD position is 2-3 years.

What does it cover? Remuneration paid to candidate is MOP 11000-14000/month (~USD 1375-1750/month).

Selection Criteria: Not Known

Notification: Not Known

How to Apply: Send your current CV, your academic transcripts, a letter of motivation and research interests, two letters of recommendations from academic faculty to Dr. Shirley Siu at shirleysiu[at]umac.mo before March 2015.

Scholarship Application Deadline: The applications should be submitted before March 2015.

http://ritg.med.harvard.edu/training/perl/RC_Perl_Intro.pdf

Recruitment for Project

Applications were invited from the citizens of India for filling up the following temporary position for the CSIR sponsored Fellowship in the School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067. This position is temporary for a period of two and half years or tenable only for the duration of the project. The requisite qualifications & experience are given below.

Project Title : "Understanding Complex dynamics and Information processing in Brain Networks"
Funding Agency : CSIR

Principal Investigator : Dr. R.K. Brojen Singh

Position : Junior Research Fellow(One post)

Salary : As per CSIR rules and guidelines for JRF.

Qualifications & Experience : M.Sc. in Physics/Mathematics/Biology/B.Tech. In Eng. Physics/Comp. Sc. and desirable CSIR-UGC NET Qualified. Candidates should also have at least one years research experience after M. Sc./B.Tech. in works related to Neuroscience/Mathematical modeling.

Candidates possessing requisite qualifications may apply either on plain paper stating the project title along with CV and send to the following address or send as email attachment (pdf or word format) so as to reach on or before 8 January, 2014.

Dr. R.K. Brojen Singh
School of Computational and Integrative Sciences
Jawharlal Nehru University
New Delhi 110067
Email: brojen@jnu.ac.in, brojen@mail.jnu.ac.in

Address of the bookmark: http://cbb.sjtu.edu.cn/course/database/beginning.pdf

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/mattharrison/Tiny-Python-3.6-Notebook/blob/master/python.rst