What is Bioinformatics?

(Molecular) bio – informatics: bioinformatics is a conceptualizing biology in terms of

molecules ( in the sense of physical chemistry) and applying “ informatics techniques”
(derived from disciplines such as applied maths, computer science and statistic) to
understand and organize the information associated with the molecules, on a large
scale. In short, bioinformatics is a management information system for molecular biology
and has practical applications.

Aims
1. Organize and store data in a way that allow researchers to access existing
information (information should be user friendly) i.e. a repository

2. Develop tools and resources that aid in the analysis and processing of data.

3. Biological context: linking a part of biological information with other relevant

information. Bioinformatics is also involved in the discovery of drugs. People use
these tools to interpret data in a biologically significant context.

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The central dogma of molecular genetics proposes that the information in DNA is used to
make RNA molecules through a process known as transcription and that the information
in some RNAis used to make proteins by a process called translation. Transcription is
carried out by RNA polymerases, whereas translation is catalyzed by enzymes associated
with ribosomes. The RNAmolecules and proteins synthesized during the development
and/or maintenance of an organism are responsible for an organism’s characteristics.

What is a genome?

In biology the genome (whole set of genes) of an organism is the whole hereditary
information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA). The
totality of DNA in a single cell is called the genome of the organism. In sexual
organisms, the genome is usually regarded as the DNA present in a reproductive cell.
This includes both genes (coding sequences) and the non-coding DNA sequences.
What is a gene?

A gene is a discrete linear sequence of DNA which corresponds to a heritable trait. In

more general terms, one can think of genes as the smallest unit of heredity. It is a DNA
segment containing biological information and hence coding for an RNA and/or
polypeptide molecule.

What is Genomics ?

Study of the whole hereditary material.

The Core Gene Sequence: Introns and Exons

Genes (coding DNA) make up about 1 percent of the total DNA in our genome. In the
human genome, the coding portion of the gene (code for protein), called exons, are
interrupted by intervening sequences, called introns.

In addition, a eukaryotic gene does not code for a protein in one continuous stretch of
DNA. Both exon and introns are “transcribed” into mRNA, but before it is transported
to the ribosome, the primary mRNA transcript is edited. This editing process removes the
introns, joins the exons together, and adds unique feature to each end of the transcript to
make “mature” mRNA.

From Genes to Proteins: Start to Finish

• Transcription: The synthesis of an RNA copy of a gene

• Translation: The synthesis of a polypeptide, the amino acid sequence of which

is,determined by the nucleotide sequence of an mRNA in accordance
with the rules of the genetic code.
Structural Genes, Junks DNA, and Regulatory Sequences.

Structural Genes

• Sequences that code for proteins are called structural genes