BOL: Related items

National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB)

Wed, 23 Jul 2014 14:10:49 -0500

NCB is offering M.Phil and Ph.D programs in the area of Bioinformatics. The major goal of NCB is to promote quality training and research in the area of Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics originated as a cross-disciplinary field as the need for computational sections to research problem raised in biomedicine.

More at http://ncb.qau.edu.pk/

The Kingsley Lab

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:55:10 -0500

The Molecular Basis of Vertebrate Evolution. Naturally occurring species show spectacular differences in morphology, physiology, behavior, disease susceptibility, and life span. Although the genomes of many organisms have now been completely sequenced, Kingsley lab still know relatively little about the specific DNA sequence changes that underlie interesting species-specific traits. Kingsley lab laboratory is using a combination of genetic and genomic approaches to identify the detailed molecular mechanisms that control evolutionary change in vertebrates.

Sequence - Evolution - Function; Computational Approaches in Comparative Genomics

Jit — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 06:58:12 -0500

Sequence - Evolution - Function is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis.

Address of the bookmark: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20260/

The Clark Lab

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 13:57:24 -0600

Study the process of Adaptive Evolution, during which species adopt novel traits to overcome challenges. We retrace the evolutionary histories of genomic elements to determine the changes underlying adaptation and to discover previously unknown genetic networks. These discoveries have already led to advances in human health, species conservation, and molecular biology.

More at http://clark.genetics.utah.edu/

Postdoctoral Scholar in Bacterial Evolution at Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:49:16 -0600

We are pleased to announce a Postdoctoral Scholar position to study
bacterial evolution at the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at
Northern Arizona University with Professor Paul Keim. The scholar
will have the opportunity also work with Professor Sam Sheppard at
The University of Oxford on joint projects. See our recent paper
on interspecific gene flow in Campylobacter. (DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00581-24)

The job description: "This research position focuses on the science
of bacterial evolution. It will consist of researching theoretical
principles, but could include translational applications. Phylogenomic
and bioinformatic analysis of bacterial populations in nature or
in laboratory experiments will be a key component of the work. Prior
experience is an asset though training will be possible at PMI.
Likewise, laboratory microbiological, molecular, and biochemical
skills are an asset though not essential. Communication and critical
thinking skills are essential for performing the work and for
communicating to the local and international scientific communities.
Participating in team or independent grant writing to obtain research
funding will be required. Student mentoring is a part of the NAU
mission and is a partial expectation."

https://hr.peoplesoft.nau.edu/psp/ph92prta/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=1&JobOpeningId=608024&PostingSeq=1

Northern Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, a
beautiful mountain town with a surprisingly vibrant restaurant
scene. Located a little over an hour from the Grand Canyon and ~45
min from Sedona, Flagstaff is a hiker's paradise. In fact, the city
of Flagstaff operates more than 50 miles of unpaved trails and there
are, on average, 266 sunny days per year with which to enjoy them.
At 7000 ft in elevation, Flagstaff experiences all four seasons,
but thesummers are mild and, in the winter, you can be on the ski
slopes within 30 min! https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/

As mentioned, joint projects with Professor Sheppard at Oxford
University are possible, including travel to his laboratory in the
United Kingdom. https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/people/samuel-sheppard

Contact Information:
Paul.Keim@nau.edu

Paul S. Keim, Ph.D.
Regents Professor, &
Cowden Endowed Chair of Microbiology
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4073

Paul S Keim

Liberles Research Group

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 03:39:53 -0500

The Liberles Research Group works in the areas of computational comparative genomics, and molecular evolution. The central theme in the research group is the detection and characterization of the lineage-specific divergence of protein-encoding genes. Much of the work in the group is done in a phylogenetic context. Ultimately, we want to ask the question, “What makes each species unique at the genomic level?” and “what are the processes driving the functional divergence of genomes?”.

More at https://sites.temple.edu/liberles/

Unlocking Evolutionary Secrets: A Dive into Comparative Genomics Methods

LEGE — Tue, 20 May 2025 00:25:09 -0500

Comparative genomics is the art and science of comparing genomes—across species, within species, or even among individuals—to unravel evolutionary relationships, functional elements, and genetic adaptations. As sequencing technologies have advanced and genome databases have expanded, comparative genomics has become a cornerstone of modern biology, shedding light on everything from antibiotic resistance in bacteria to human disease genetics.

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.

Computational Genomics: Applied Comparative Genomics

Jit — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 05:11:30 -0600

The primary goal of the course is for students to be grounded in theory and leave the course empowered to conduct independent genomic analyses. We will study the leading computational and quantitative approaches for comparing and analyzing genomes starting from raw sequencing data. The course will focus on human genomics and human medical applications, but the techniques will be broadly applicable across the tree of life. The topics will include genome assembly & comparative genomics, variant identification & analysis, gene expression & regulation, personal genome analysis, and cancer genomics. The grading will be based on assignments, a midterm exam, class presentations, and a significant class project. There are no formal course prerequisites, although the course will require familiarity with UNIX scripting and/or programming to complete the assignments and course project.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/schatzlab/appliedgenomics

Bionics, Transhumanism, and the end of Evolution (Full Documentary)

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 11:54:17 -0500

Bionics, Transhumanism, and the end of Evolution (Full Documentary) . 2013 This documentary and the rest of the documentaries presented relate to important times and figures in history, historic places and sites, archaeology, science, conspiracy theories, and education. The Topics of these video documentaries are varied and cover ancient history, Rome, Greece, Egypt, science, technology, nature, planet earth, the solar system, the universe, World wars, Battles, education, Biographies, television, archaeology, Illuminati, Area 51, serial killers, paranormal, supernatural, cults, government cover-ups, corruption, martial arts, space, aliens, ufos, conspiracy theories, Annunaki, Nibiru, Nephilim, satanic rituals, religion, strange phenomenon, origins of Mankind

The Cat: evolution, domestication and Genome 10k

Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:33:56 -0600

A public lecture by Dr Stephen J O'Brien at the UCD Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland. Dr O'Brien is a world leading molecular biologist and dedicated conservationist who uses the tools of molecular biology to help protect endangered species and understand devastating diseases such as cancer and AIDS. He received his PhD in Genetics from Cornell University, USA, in 1971. He then joined the prestigious National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health as a post-doc in 1971 and, there, served as Founder and Chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity from 1986-2011. In December 2011, he joined the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, as Chief Scientific Officer. Convinced of the utility of exploring diverse species to advance our understanding of the human genome, Dr O'Brien and his team have assembled over 62,000 animal and 424,000 human tissue/DNA specimens, facilitating wide-ranging studies of disease gene associations, species adaptation and natural history. His research interests and expertise span human and comparative genomics, genetic epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, retro-virology, bioinformatics biodiversity and species conservation. Dr O'Brien is best known for documenting the remarkable genetic uniformity of African cheetahs, resolving the mammalian tree of life, describing heretofore unrecognized species of Orangutans, African forest elephants, and Bornean clouded leopards. He is credited with the discovery of CCR5 delta 32, the first of 20 human AIDS restriction genes, which imparts natural immunity to HIV. He is the one of the founders of the Genome 10K initiative, has published over 750 leading research papers, written multiple books and is adjunct professor in over 12 international leading universities. The UCD Earth Institute, University College Dublin, is a multidisciplinary research and education centre with a focus on creating and sharing new knowledge. We aim to contribute to sustainable solutions for many of the pressing Earth-related problems affecting societies now and in the near future.