Preface . xv
Contributors .. xvii
1 BIOINFORMATICS AND THE INTERNET 1
Andreas D. Baxevanis
Internet Basics .. 2
Connecting to the Internet . 4
Electronic Mail . 7
File Transfer Protocol . 10
The World Wide Web . 13
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 1 .. 16
References .. 17
2 THE NCBI DATA MODEL 19
James M. Ostell, Sarah J. Wheelan, and Jonathan A. Kans
Introduction 19
PUBs: Publications or Perish 24
SEQ-Ids: What’s in a Name? 28
BIOSEQs: Sequences .. 31
BIOSEQ-SETs: Collections of Sequences . 34
SEQ-ANNOT: Annotating the Sequence .. 35
SEQ-DESCR: Describing the Sequence 40
Using the Model .. 41
Conclusions 43
References .. 43
3 THE GENBANK SEQUENCE DATABASE 45
Ilene Karsch-Mizrachi and B. F. Francis Ouellette
Introduction 45
Primary and Secondary Databases .. 47
Format vs. Content: Computers vs. Humans 47
The Database . 49
The GenBank Flatfile: A Dissection 49
Concluding Remarks 58
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 3 .. 58
References .. 59
Appendices . 59
Appendix 3.1 Example of GenBank Flatfile Format 59
Appendix 3.2 Example of EMBL Flatfile Format . 61
Appendix 3.3 Example of a Record in CON Division 63
4 SUBMITTING DNA SEQUENCES TO THE DATABASES 65
Jonathan A. Kans and B. F. Francis Ouellette
Introduction 65
Why, Where, and What to Submit? 66
DNA/RNA .. 67
Population, Phylogenetic, and Mutation Studies . 69
Protein-Only Submissions .. 69
How to Submit on the World Wide Web .. 70
How to Submit with Sequin . 70
Updates 77
Consequences of the Data Model 77
EST/STS/GSS/HTG/SNP and Genome Centers .. 79
Concluding Remarks 79
Contact Points for Submission of Sequence Data to
DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank .. 80
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 4 .. 80
References .. 81
5 STRUCTURE DATABASES 83
Christopher W. V. Hogue
Introduction to Structures .. 83
PDB: Protein Data Bank at the Research Collaboratory for
Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB) .. 87
MMDB: Molecular Modeling Database at NCBI .. 91
Stucture File Formats .. 94
Visualizing Structural Information .. 95
Database Structure Viewers .. 100
Advanced Structure Modeling .. 103
Structure Similarity Searching .. 103
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 5 .. 106
Problem Set 107
References .. 107
6 GENOMIC MAPPING AND MAPPING DATABASES 111
Peter S. White and Tara C. Matise
Interplay of Mapping and Sequencing .. 112
Genomic Map Elements . 113
Types of Maps .. 115
Complexities and Pitfalls of Mapping 120
Data Repositories . 122
Mapping Projects and Associated Resources 127
Practical Uses of Mapping Resources 142
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 6 .. 146
Problem Set 148
References .. 149
7 INFORMATION RETRIEVAL FROM BIOLOGICAL
DATABASES 155
Andreas D. Baxevanis
Integrated Information Retrieval: The Entrez System 156
LocusLink .. 172
Sequence Databases Beyond NCBI 178
Medical Databases 181
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 7 .. 183
Problem Set 184
References .. 185
8 SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT AND DATABASE SEARCHING 187
Gregory D. Schuler
Introduction 187
The Evolutionary Basis of Sequence Alignment . 188
The Modular Nature of Proteins .. 190
Optimal Alignment Methods . 193
Substitution Scores and Gap Penalties .. 195
Statistical Significance of Alignments 198
Database Similarity Searching .. 198
FASTA . 200
BLAST 202
Database Searching Artifacts . 204
Position-Specific Scoring Matrices . 208
Spliced Alignments .. 209
Conclusions 210
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 8 .. 212
References .. 212
9 CREATION AND ANALYSIS OF PROTEIN MULTIPLE
SEQUENCE ALIGNMENTS 215
Geoffrey J. Barton
Introduction 215
What is a Multiple Alignment, and Why Do It? 216
Structural Alignment or Evolutionary Alignment? . 216
How to Multiply Align Sequences .. 217
Tools to Assist the Analysis of Multiple Alignments 222
Collections of Multiple Alignments 227
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 9 .. 228
Problem Set 229
References .. 230
10 PREDICTIVE METHODS USING DNA SEQUENCES 233
Andreas D. Baxevanis
GRAIL . 235
FGENEH/FGENES .. 236
MZEF .. 238
GENSCAN . 240
PROCRUSTES . 241
How Well Do the Methods Work? . 246
Strategies and Considerations 248
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 10 250
Problem Set 251
References .. 251
11 PREDICTIVE METHODS USING PROTEIN SEQUENCES 253
Sharmila Banerjee-Basu and Andreas D. Baxevanis
Protein Identity Based on Composition . 254
Physical Properties Based on Sequence . 257
Motifs and Patterns .. 259
Secondary Structure and Folding Classes . 263
Specialized Structures or Features .. 269
Tertiary Structure .. 274
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 11 277
Problem Set 278
References .. 279
12 EXPRESSED SEQUENCE TAGS (ESTs) 283
Tyra G. Wolfsberg and David Landsman
What is an EST? .. 284
EST Clustering .. 288
TIGR Gene Indices .. 293
STACK 293
ESTs and Gene Discovery . 294
The Human Gene Map .. 294
Gene Prediction in Genomic DNA . 295
ESTs and Sequence Polymorphisms .. 296
Assessing Levels of Gene Expression Using ESTs 296
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 12 298
Problem Set 298
References .. 299
13 SEQUENCE ASSEMBLY AND FINISHING METHODS 303
Rodger Staden, David P. Judge, and James K. Bonfield
The Use of Base Cell Accuracy Estimates or Confidence Values . 305
The Requirements for Assembly Software 306
Global Assembly .. 306
File Formats .. 307
Preparing Readings for Assembly 308
Introduction to Gap4 311
The Contig Selector . 311
The Contig Comparator .. 312
The Template Display . 313
The Consistency Display 316
The Contig Editor 316
The Contig Joining Editor . 319
Disassembling Readings . 319
Experiment Suggestion and Automation 319
Concluding Remarks 321
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 13 321
Problem Set 322
References .. 322
14 PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS 323
Fiona S. L. Brinkman and Detlef D. Leipe
Fundamental Elements of Phylogenetic Models . 325
Tree Interpretation—The Importance of Identifying Paralogs
and Orthologs 327
Phylogenetic Data Analysis: The Four Steps .. 327
Alignment: Building the Data Model . 329
Alignment: Extraction of a Phylogenetic Data Set 333
Determining the Substitution Model .. 335
Tree-Building Methods 340
Distance, Parsimony, and Maximum Likelihood: What’s the
Difference? . 345
Tree Evaluation . 346
Phylogenetics Software .. 348
Internet-Accessible Phylogenetic Analysis Software . 354
Some Simple Practical Considerations .. 356
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 14 356
References .. 357
15 COMPARATIVE GENOME ANALYSIS 359
Michael Y. Galperin and Eugene V. Koonin
Progress in Genome Sequencing . 360
Genome Analysis and Annotation 366
Application of Comparative Genomics—Reconstruction of
Metabolic Pathways 382
Avoiding Common Problems in Genome Annotation 385
Conclusions 387
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 15 387
Problems for Additional Study . 389
References .. 390
16 LARGE-SCALE GENOME ANALYSIS 393
Paul S. Meltzer
Introduction 393
Technologies for Large-Scale Gene Expression .. 394
Computational Tools for Expression Analysis . 399
Hierarchical Clustering 407
Prospects for the Future . 409
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 16 410
References .. 410
17 USING PERL TO FACILITATE BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 413
Lincoln D. Stein
Getting Started .. 414
How Scripts Work 416
Strings, Numbers, and Variables .. 417
Arithmetic .. 418
Variable Interpolation .. 419
Basic Input and Output .. 420
Filehandles . 422
Making Decisions . 424
Conditional Blocks .. 427
What is Truth? .. 430
Loops 430
Combining Loops with Input 432
Standard Input and Output 433
Finding the Length of a Sequence File . 435
Pattern Matching .. 436
Extracting Patterns 440
Arrays .. 441
Arrays and Lists 444
Split and Join . 444
Hashes . 445
A Real-World Example .. 446
Where to Go From Here 449
Internet Resources for Topics Presented in Chapter 17 449
Suggested Reading .. 449
Glossary 451
Index .. 457
