Need of Bioinformatics and its applications

 

Need of Bioinformatics

 

                    Our body is made up of trillions of cells. These cells have ultramicroscopic structures called the nucleus, which contains tightly packed DNA molecule. 

DNA contains ~3x10⁹ nucleotides. These nucleotides are basically data of instructions to proteins synthesis. It is impossible for us to store, analyze or interpret this large amount of data. Only computers can help us for analysis storage and retrieval of this data. Each day with advancement in sequencing technology thousands of nucleotides of different organisms are sequenced and submitted to the online data bases.

                         Particularly from 2000-2015, it is observed that the number of online tools are developed for analyzing and interpreting this data. Bioinformatics is interdisciplinary field in which Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology Computer science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics work together.

                         Gene bank is an online data base which comprises of nucleotides sequences of 0.24 Million organisms. In 1982 it contains 2 billion base pairs of nucleotides but in 2002 it increased dramatically to 56 Billion base pairs and increasing at an exponential rate. 

Definitely interpreting, analysis and storage of such enormous data requires a special field of computational biology. By the increase in the genomic data, there is also immense increase in proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics data. For a biologist it’s very difficult to analyze and interpret such large amount of data. The data itself is meaningless if could not be properly interpreted. Therefore the need of developing computer tools arises. The essential process in organisms is the synthesis proteins, which involves the nucleotide sequence determines the sequence of amino acids, and ultimately structure and function of proteins, the integration of information from this key process will enable us to deeply understand the molecular biology of organisms.

 

Bioinformatics work flow to analyze experiment

 Bioinformatics also helps us to better understand the process of evolution. It helps us to study different phylogenic relationships among the organisms. It helped to completely study the phylogenetic tree of life which is Bacteria, Archaebacteria, and Eukaryotes. We can also understand hereditary diseases and make drugs. The structure, functions and interactions of proteins could be understand properly in the field of bioinformatics.

 

Applications of Bioinformatics

As the bioinformatics is an emerging field and it has vast applications some of which are explained below

 

A.   Basic Research 

 

1.Genomics

                

·         Bioinformatics help us to integration of genetical data.

·         We can sequence organize and sequence this data.

·         And then easily interpret for further studies.

·         We can also find and identify the desired gene.

·         Also helps us to transcribe the genetic data into the RNA.

              2. Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics

·         Bioinformatics help us to compare the genetic data of different species

·         By comparing this data we can find the conserved sequence among the species

·         For example when we compare the sequences of Human and Chimpanzee it tells us the differences among these two species since they divert from each other.

 

3. Proteomics

·         Bioinformatics also helps us to understand the protein structure and functions.

·         We can better understand the protein-protein interactions.

·         We can also sequence the amino acids by using the bioinformatics tools.

·         It helps us to better understand the central dogma.

·         We can predict the structures of proteins, and also post translational modifications with the help of bioinformatics.

            4. System biology/System genetics

·         Bioinformatics helps us to understand the interaction between different molecules of life

·         We can understand the regulatory mechanisms between genes and proteins

·         We can modulate how proteins interact with each other, the effect of one protein on the other, how the proteins forms network for working or signaling.

·         We can evaluate such models and we can predict disease and drug interactions.

B.   Biomedicine

As the diseases are directly related with genes. By completing human gene project now we can easily find the disease causing genes and their cure.

1.      Drug Discovery

·         With the help of bioinformatics We can understand the molecular basis of these diseases

·         Thus we can develop the drugs accordingly which have more effect and ultimately minimum side effects.

·         The drugs target the disease without harming other genes

2.      Personalized Medicine

·         Pharmacogenomics helps us to know how a person’s body behave against a particular medicine

·         With the help of bioinformatics we can make personalized medicines which have the maximum effect in a person

·         We can do this after knowing the genetic profile of that person and hence only bioinformatics can help us in this regard

3.      Gene Therapy

·         Changing, repairing the damaged gene, or changing the expression of the gene is also the cure of some disease. And this can only be done with the help of bioinformatics

C.   Microbiology

With the help of bioinformatics scientist studied the microbial genomes and can understand the life of the microorganisms. They used the microorganisms for number of purposes.

 

1.      Biotechnology

·         Making products at industrial and commercial level using microorganisms specially bacteria is now very common, all is due to bioinformatics

·         Cloning and genetic modification are some techniques of biotechnology which are dependent on Bioinformatics

2.      Antibiotic Resistance

·         Scientist are examining the genome of some bacteria, and trying to find the genes which causes the drug resistance, with the help of bioinformatics

·         Hence this will help to treat the bacterial infections

3.      Alternative Energy sources

 

·         By using tools of bioinformatics Scientists are studying the genome of microbe C. tepidum; it has the ability to produce energy by using sunlight.

D.    Agriculture

By sequencing genome of plants with the help of bioinformatics we can deeply study the genome and can know the functions of different genes of plants, hence we can have better varieties of plants.

1.      Crops

·         Comparative studies of genomes showed that more of their genes remained conserved over the evolutionary period.

·         Now by using bioinformatics tools complete genome of crops like rice is available

·         Genome sequencing and genome study of crops can suggest the improvements in the yield and variety.

2.      Insect Resistance

·         By studying the genome of some microorganisms scientist have came to know that if the gene is inserted in crop, it can resist insect attack.

·         Hence the amount of insecticides usage reduce

·         Food quality would be improved by doing this

E.     Comparative Studies

·         By comparing the genome of different species gives we can study the genes function, inheritance pattern, evolutionary relationship, different diseases by using bioinformatics tools

·         Bioinformatics also useful in determining number of genes, their locations and interaction

                               Besides all the above applications bioinformatics has also developed tools for the handling of such large amount of data of amino acids and nucleotides sequences. It enables us to understand interpret that data in a very accurate way. We can now process our data and can formulate some predictions and hypothesis from this data by using tools of bioinformatics. It is just the start still a long way to go, applications of bioinformatics increasing day by day. Soon we will be able to understand the root causes of diseases and will be able discover much better cures.