BOL: Related items

HNADOCK: a nucleic acid docking server for modeling RNA/DNA–RNA/DNA 3D complex structures

Poonam Mahapatra — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 23:19:07 -0500

The HNADOCK server is to predict the binding complex structure between two nucleic acid molecules through a hierarchical docking algorihtm of an FFT-based global search strategy and an intrinsic scoring function for nucleic acid interactions. Users are required to provide the three-dimensional (3D) structures of the two molecules to be docked.

Address of the bookmark: http://huanglab.phys.hust.edu.cn/hnadock/

The 8000 years old Tibetian gene mutation !!!

Neel — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 21:57:44 -0500

A new study has provided insight into how gene mutation around 8,000 years ago helped Tibetans' to survive in the thin air on the Tibetan Plateau, where an average elevation is of 14,800 feet.

A study led by University of Utah scientists is the first to find a genetic cause for the adaptation, a single DNA base pair change that dates back 8,000 years and demonstrate how it contributes to the Tibetans' ability to live in low oxygen conditions.

About 8,000 years ago, the gene EGLN1 changed by a single DNA base pair. Today, a relatively short time later on the scale of human history, 88 percent of Tibetans have the genetic variation, and it was virtually absent from closely related lowland Asians. The findings indicate the genetic variation endows its carriers with an advantage.

In those without the adaptation, low oxygen caused their blood to become thick with oxygen-carrying red blood cells, an attempt to feed starved tissues, which could cause long-term complications such as heart failure. The researchers found that the newly identified genetic variation protected Tibetans by decreasing the over-response to low oxygen.

Reference: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v512/n7513/abs/nature13408.html

Common methods to discover tandem repeats

BioStar — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 02:40:52 -0600

Tandem repeats are DNA sequences that are repeated in a contiguous manner in the genome. These sequences are often used as genetic markers and are important in many areas of genetics and genomics research. Here are some methods for discovering tandem repeats in genomes:

Tandem Repeat Finder: Tandem Repeat Finder is a software tool that identifies tandem repeats in DNA sequences. It is available for free download and can be used on both nucleotide and protein sequences. The tool uses a statistical algorithm to identify repeats based on their length, copy number, and overall composition.
RepeatMasker: RepeatMasker is another software tool that can identify tandem repeats in DNA sequences. It works by comparing the input sequence to a database of known repeats and then identifies any tandem repeats that match those in the database.
PCR-based methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used to amplify and detect tandem repeats in genomic DNA. PCR primers are designed to flank the tandem repeat region, and amplification of the target DNA fragment can be visualized on a gel. This method can be useful for detecting novel tandem repeats and for genotyping.
Southern blotting: Southern blotting is a classic method for detecting DNA fragments in a sample. It can be used to detect tandem repeats by digesting genomic DNA with a restriction enzyme, separating the fragments by gel electrophoresis, and then probing the blot with a tandem repeat-specific probe.

Overall, a combination of these methods can be used to comprehensively identify tandem repeats in genomes.

Basics of BLAST Programs !

BioStar — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 06:04:26 -0500

The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) is a powerful bioinformatics program used to compare an input sequence (such as DNA, RNA, or protein sequences) against a database of sequences to find regions of similarity. Developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), BLAST is widely used for identifying species, finding functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences, and predicting the function of novel sequences.

Key Features of BLAST:
1. Sequence Comparison: BLAST searches for local alignments between the query sequence and sequences in a database. It identifies regions of similarity, which can help infer functional and evolutionary relationships.

2. Speed and Efficiency: BLAST uses heuristic algorithms, making it faster than exhaustive search methods, suitable for large-scale database searches.

3. Versatility: There are several versions of BLAST for different types of sequence comparisons:
- blastn: Compares a nucleotide query sequence against a nucleotide sequence database.
- blastp: Compares a protein query sequence against a protein sequence database.
- blastx: Compares a nucleotide query sequence translated in all reading frames against a protein sequence database.
- tblastn: Compares a protein query sequence against a nucleotide sequence database translated in all reading frames.
- tblastx: Compares the six-frame translations of a nucleotide query sequence against the six-frame translations of a nucleotide sequence database.

4. Scoring and E-value: BLAST results are scored based on the quality and length of the alignments. The E-value (expect value) indicates the number of alignments one can expect to find by chance, with lower E-values representing more significant matches.

5. Output Formats: BLAST provides results in various formats, including plain text, HTML, XML, and JSON, making it adaptable for different types of analyses and integrations with other tools.

Applications of BLAST:
- Genomic Research: Identifying genes, understanding genetic diversity, and mapping genome sequences.
- Protein Function Prediction: Inferring the function of unknown proteins by comparing them to known protein sequences.
- Evolutionary Studies: Exploring evolutionary relationships between organisms by comparing their genetic material.
- Medical Research: Identifying pathogens, understanding disease mechanisms, and developing treatments by comparing sequences of interest.

Overall, BLAST is an essential tool in bioinformatics, offering a reliable and efficient way to analyze and interpret biological sequence data.

Coronavirus Resources !

Neel — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 17:11:33 -0500

2019nCoVR features comprehensive integration of genomic and proteomic sequences as well as their metadata information from the GISAID, NCBI, NMDC and CNCB/NGDC. It also incorporates a wide range of relevant information including scientific literatures, news, and popular articles for science dissemination, and provides visualization functionalities for genome variation analysis results based on all collected 2019-nCoV strains.

Annotation

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/variation/annotation

Genome wharehouse

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/gwh/browse/index

Released Genome

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/release_genome

Download data

ftp://download.big.ac.cn/Genome/Viruses/Coronaviridae/

Raw data

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/gsa/browse/run/?tag=Coronaviridae

Address of the bookmark: https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/about

BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain

Rahul Agarwal — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 18:43:00 -0500

The BrainSpan atlas- web source for revealing transcriptional mechanisms involved in human brain development.

Article:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/maps-unborn-human-brains-point-medical-frontiers-n71336

Paper:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13185.html

Address of the bookmark: http://brainspan.org/static/home

ChIPBase: open database for studying the transcription factor binding sites and motifs

Abhi — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 05:36:03 -0600

ChIPBase v2.0 is an open database for studying the transcription factor binding sites and motifs, and decoding the transcriptional regulatory networks of lncRNAs, miRNAs, other ncRNAs and protein-coding genes from ChIP-seq data. Our database currently contains ~10,200 curated peak datasets derived from ChIP-seq methods in 10 species.

Address of the bookmark: https://rna.sysu.edu.cn/chipbase/

GrapheR !!!

John Parker — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:02:17 -0500

What a wonderful gem GrapheR is.... Oh yes it is. GrapheR is a GUI for base graphics in R by http://www.maximeherve.com/. The package provides a graphical user interface for creating base charts in R. It is ideal for beginners in R, as the user interface is very clear and the code is written along side into a text file, allowing users to recreate the charts directly in the console.

Adding and changing legends? Messing around with the plotting window settings? It is much easier/quicker with this GUI than reading the help file and trying to understand the various parameters.
Here is a little example using the iris data set.

library(GrapheR)
data(iris)
run.GrapheR()

This will bring up a window that helps me to create the chart and tweak the various parameters.

Finally, I find the underlying R code in a file created by GrapheR. For more details read also the package vignette, which is available in English, French and German!

pybedtools

Shruti Paniwala — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 01:03:41 -0500

pybedtools is a Python wrapper for Aaron Quinlan's BEDtools programs (https://github.com/arq5x/bedtools), which are widely used for genomic interval manipulation or "genome algebra". pybedtools extends BEDTools by offering feature-level manipulations from with Python. See full online documentation, including installation instructions, at http://pythonhosted.org/pybedtools/.

More at http://pythonhosted.org/pybedtools/

A powerful toolset for genome arithmetic.http://code.google.com/p/bedtools/

NGS Online Training

Sat, 27 Sep 2014 07:42:29 -0500

ArrayGen Technologies announces to provide online NGS training through out the globe. Now analyze your own NGS datasets from anywhere.For more information contact us at training@arraygen.com

Please visit our site at www.arraygen.com