Dr.
Jonathan D. Monroe, Department
of Biology, James Madison
University,
Harrisonburg,
VA, monroejd@jmu.edu
Office
of Health Policy and Clinical Outcomes, Jefferson
Medical College, Thomas Jefferson
University,
Philadelphia, PA
Goals
This tutorial will introduce you to some of the Internet tools and resources currently being used by molecular biologists. You will visit several databases containing various kinds of information and answer a series of questions. While the answers to these questions are by themselves not that significant, by completing the tutorial you will have been exposed to databases used by researchers that use the tools of molecular biology. You will gain a better understanding of nucleotide and amino acid sequence information and how it can be analyzed. Some of you will undoubtedly be more knowledgeable than others so I included an introductory page explaining some of the basics. If you would like to find definitions for technical terms, try using BioTech's Life Science Dictionary.
Much of the information you access is maintained by the National Biotechnology Information Center (NCBI), and is cross referenced in a versatile search and retrieval system called Entrez. At times you will be asked to do a search using specific terms. If you fail to get a response, try again at a later time when the Internet is less busy. Afternoons will probably be the busiest. Each link will open a new window so you can easily switch back and forth to read the questions or comments and do the searching. When you finish with a window simply close it and return to this one. Feel free at any time to browse further into each site following your curiosity... no one will know!
What follows is a series of 3 pages. The first is a page of background information, mentioned above, to refresh your memory on DNA and gene structure. It also includes a description of the kinds of sequences you are likely to encounter in the databases. If you know what the terms cDNA, intron, and EST mean, or know roughly how many genes there are in yeast, feel free to skip this page and go on to the tutorial. The tutorial is divided into two parts. Part 1 is on finding known genes in the databases and part two is on identifying genes in a genomic sequence. If you encounter any problems completing the tutorial please feel free to contact Jon Monroe. Have fun!
Background
Information
Part
1 - Finding known genes
Part
2 - Identifying genes in a genomic sequence
10/10/05 Copyright (C)
2005,
Jonathan Monroe, monroejd@jmu.edu.
All rights reserved.
URL:
http://csm.jmu.edu/biology/monroejd/amcp/genome1.html