Introduction to Bioinformatics: CMSC54610-1, Winter Quarter 2007.

Lecture 8: Genomics and Gene Recognition

• Eukaryotic Gene Structure
  • Gene regulation
  • Promoter elements (transcription factors)
    • Table 6.5 lists common sequences for RNA polymerase II
    • database on pathologically relevant mutated forms of transcription factors
  • Regulatory protein binding sites:
    • database on composite regulatory elements
    • PredictRegulon server

• Open Reading Frames
  • Introns and exons: much more complex than prokaryots
  • hnRNA --> mRNA
  • Alternative splicing: combining exons in different orders
    • "molecular basis for differentiating between splice junctions ... remains an important unanswered question"
    • Up to 64 different splicings are known for a single gene
    • Table 6.6 shows range: from 0 introns to 117 introns, lengths up to the millions of base pairs

Back to Lecture 8: Genomics and Gene Recognition