BOL: Related items

Finding the Hidden Switches: The Story of KiNext and Protein Kinases

LEGE — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 02:51:28 -0500

Every newly sequenced genome contains thousands of proteins, but identifying what each protein does is a much harder task. Among these proteins are protein kinases, important molecular regulators that control processes such as cell growth, development, metabolism, stress responses, and signaling. Finding these kinases and determining which families they belong to can reveal important clues about how an organism functions and has evolved.

This is where KiNext comes into the picture. Introduced in a 2024 study published in BMC Bioinformatics, KiNext is a computational workflow designed to identify and classify protein kinases from predicted protein sequences. Instead of relying on a single search method, it brings together several approaches, including Hidden Markov Models, sequence alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and structural comparison.

The search begins with a simple question: does a protein contain the characteristics of a kinase? Protein kinases can change considerably during evolution, but important regions of their sequences often retain recognizable patterns. KiNext uses Hidden Markov Models, or HMMs, to detect these patterns. An HMM does not require a protein to be an exact match to a known kinase. Instead, it looks for a statistical sequence signature associated with kinase proteins, making it possible to detect more distant candidates.

Once potential kinases are identified, KiNext takes the analysis further. It distinguishes conventional eukaryotic protein kinases from atypical protein kinases and then attempts to classify them into different kinase groups and families. This distinction is important because simply identifying a protein as a kinase does not tell the complete story. Different kinase families can have very different evolutionary histories and biological functions.

The next stage brings evolution into the picture. KiNext can align kinase sequences and construct phylogenetic trees, allowing researchers to examine how newly identified proteins are related to previously characterized kinases. When sequence evidence alone is difficult to interpret, structural information can provide another clue. The workflow can incorporate AlphaFold-predicted structures and Foldseek-based structural comparisons to investigate whether an unusual protein resembles known kinase structures.

The researchers tested KiNext using two very different organisms: the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, and the green alga Ostreococcus tauri. In C. gigas, KiNext recovered previously reported kinases while identifying additional candidates. Structural analysis provided further evidence for many of the newly detected proteins. In O. tauri, the workflow similarly recovered most previously reported kinases and identified additional candidates while refining some of their classifications.

What makes KiNext particularly interesting is not just its ability to find kinases, but how the entire analysis is organized. The workflow uses Nextflow, allowing the different computational steps to be connected into a reproducible pipeline. Containers can also help manage software dependencies, making it easier to run the workflow across different computing environments.

This reproducibility becomes increasingly important as the number of available genomes continues to grow. A researcher studying one organism may be able to perform an analysis manually, but repeating the same process across hundreds or thousands of genomes quickly becomes impractical. A standardized workflow provides a way to perform the analysis consistently while keeping track of how the results were generated.

At its core, KiNext demonstrates a broader change taking place in modern genomics. Sequencing a genome provides an enormous amount of information, but the real scientific challenge begins afterward: understanding what all those sequences mean. Protein kinases are only one part of this larger puzzle, yet they are particularly important because they act as molecular switches throughout the cell.

By combining sequence profiles, evolutionary analysis, and structural evidence within a reproducible computational framework, KiNext provides researchers with a systematic way to uncover these molecular switches. Its real value lies not only in finding more kinases, but in making the process scalable, repeatable, and easier to apply to new genomes.

As genome sequencing continues to expand across the tree of life, tools such as KiNext can help turn enormous collections of protein sequences into meaningful biological stories—one kinase at a time.

What Junk DNA? It’s an Operating System

Rahul Agarwal — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 15:24:26 -0500

The report adds to growing experimental support for the idea that all that extra stuff in the human genes, once referred to as “junk DNA,” is more than functionless, space-filling material that happens to make up nearly 98% of the genome. The paper adds to a growing body of knowledge establishing a considerable role for this material in the regulation of gene expression and its potential role in human disease.

Address of the bookmark: http://www.genengnews.com/keywordsandtools/print/3/32115/

Free math books

Manisha Mishra — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:38:34 -0600

Bioinformatics require some match skills, therefore I decided to provide this wonderful math eBooks links to the BOL community.

Please add ur links/bookmarks in comment section.

Address of the bookmark: http://physicsdatabase.com/free-math-books/

Bioinformatics software for biologists in the genomics era

Poonam Mahapatra — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 17:31:05 -0600

The genome sequencing revolution is approaching a landmark figure of 1000 completely sequenced genomes. Coupled with fast-declining, per-base sequencing costs, this influx of DNA sequence data has encouraged laboratory scientists to engage large datasets in comparative sequence analyses for making evolutionary, functional and translational inferences. However, the majority of the scientists at the forefront of experimental research are not bioinformaticians, so a gap exists between the user-friendly software needed and the scripting/programming infrastructure often employed for the analysis of large numbers of genes, long genomic segments and groups of sequences. We see an urgent need for the expansion of the fundamental paradigms under which biologist-friendly software tools are designed and developed to fulfill the needs of biologists to analyze large datasets by using sophisticated computational methods. We argue that the design principles need to be sensitive to the reality that comparatively small teams of biologists have historically developed some of the most popular biological software packages in molecular evolutionary analysis. Furthermore, biological intuitiveness and investigator empowerment need to take precedence over the current supposition that biologists should re-tool and become programmers when analyzing genome scale datasets.

Address of the bookmark: http://bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/14/1713.full

The Breitbart lab

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:19:49 -0500

Breitbart’s lab has created a new branch of biology called metagenomics in which one can sample and sequence genetic material collected from the environment.

Breitbart lab is located in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. She is chosen as top "10 Brilliant" scientist by Popular Science magazine.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/mya-breitbart

Lab Link:
https://sites.google.com/site/breitbartgenomicslab/
http://www.marine.usf.edu/faculty/mya-breitbart.shtml

Rehmsmeier group

Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:07:07 -0600

"Our research focuses on understanding development, gene regulation, and epigenetics on a genome-wide scale, in the context of evolution. This involves the design and application of algorithms, statistics, and experimental approaches."

http://www.bccs.uni.no/units/cbu/research/rehmsmeier/

Bioinformatician for a lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 04:38:28 -0500

We are looking for enthusiastic, motivated and talented people, at all career stages (MSc, PhD, postdoctoral fellows), to join the lab! Bioinformatics in particular are invited to apply.
Our lab focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms of protein modifications in cancer and immune regulation.
We employ advanced high-throughput proteomic and genomic methods, cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, in-vivo models as well as systems biology and bioinformatics to study the biology of PTMs in health and disease. Read more here: http://yifatmerbl.com.

PIT Bioinformatics Group

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:34:26 -0500

PIT Bioinformatics Group solves problems in bioinformatics and computational biology. Recent developed online tools:

- Budapest Reference Connectome: View a parametrizable connectome (brain graph).
- AmphoraNet: The webserver implementation of the AMPHORA2 workflow for phylogenetic analysis of metagenomic shotgun sequencing data.
- AmphoraVizu: Chart visualization for metagenomics analysis tools AMPHORA2 and AmphoraNet.
- SCARF: Free online association rule mining tool.

More at: http://pitgroup.org

Algorithms for DNA Sequencing (course offered each month)

Rahul Agarwal — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 01:57:02 -0500

"We will learn computational methods -- algorithms and data structures -- for analyzing DNA sequencing data. We will learn a little about DNA, genomics, and how DNA sequencing is used. We will use Python to implement key algorithms and data structures and to analyze real genomes and DNA sequencing datasets."

Source : https://www.coursera.org/course/ads1

Address of the bookmark: https://www.coursera.org/course/ads1

PostDoc at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT), Noida Department of Biotechnology

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 11:13:25 -0600

Lab of Dr. Rawal is supported by generous grants to build advanced applications in emerging areas of cancer genomics, network sciences, vaccine development and epidemiology. The lab has dedicated high end Xeon servers, desktops, & laptops for research purpose. Currently, there are several researchers (JRFs, B. Techs, M. Tech and PhDs) working on several challenging bioinformatics projects. In addition, Dr. Rawal has collaborations with reputed national and international research teams.

Dr. Rawal and his US based collaborators have recently secured grant for development of vaccine against an infectious disease agent. For this project, applications are invited for the posts of Post Doctoral Fellow/Research Scientist (One Position) for the following time-bound sponsored projects as per the details given below:

PI: Dr. Kamal Rawal, Biotechnology Department, JIIT, Noida.

Essential Qualification(s) for Post Doctoral Fellow/ Research Scientist:

We are seeking an individual with expertise in analyzing literature information, text mining, network biology, data integration, and modeling. Competitive candidates would also have programming experience in scripting languages with perl, C, C++, and R programming. This position requires a PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Physics or related fields, and evidence of scientific productivity through publications in international journals. Motivation to gain an in-depth understanding of biological phenomena is required. Applications should include a current CV and names of at least three references. Application packages and inquiries regarding this position can be sent to Dr. Kamal Rawal (bioinfocvatgmaildotcom and kamaldotrawalatgmaildotcom). Screening of applications will commence immediately and the position will remain open until filled. Candidates having master’s degree with extensive experience in IT industry or research can also be considered for this post.

Salary: Rs 50000 per month.

Duration: 2 years or upto the project duration.

Number of position: 1

Candidate may also fill the following form:

https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdZoZ21ZoNRStEeL5…/viewform

http://tinyurl.com/bioinfocv2017