Essential Bioinformatics

Clear, concise introduction to bioinformatics, written specifically to be accessible to a life science audience.

Jin Xiong (Author)

9780521600828, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 March 2006

352 pages, 9 tables
25.4 x 17.7 x 2.1 cm, 0.82 kg

'Awareness of bioinformatics is essential in a modern microbiological qualification and as this subject matures there are an increasing number of texts available. Essential Bioinformatics is a welcome addition to this area, by having a broad general approach that I think is particularly suitable for the undergraduate teaching.' Gavin Thomas, University of York

Essential Bioinformatics is a concise yet comprehensive textbook of bioinformatics, which provides a broad introduction to the entire field. Written specifically for a life science audience, the basics of bioinformatics are explained, followed by discussions of the state-of-the-art computational tools available to solve biological research problems. All key areas of bioinformatics are covered including biological databases, sequence alignment, genes and promoter prediction, molecular phylogenetics, structural bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics. The book emphasizes how computational methods work and compares the strengths and weaknesses of different methods. This balanced yet easily accessible text will be invaluable to students who do not have sophisticated computational backgrounds. Technical details of computational algorithms are explained with a minimum use of mathematical formulae; graphical illustrations are used in their place to aid understanding. The effective synthesis of existing literature as well as in-depth and up-to-date coverage of all key topics in bioinformatics make this an ideal textbook for all bioinformatics courses taken by life science students and for researchers wishing to develop their knowledge of bioinformatics to facilitate their own research.

Preface
Part I. Introduction and Biological Databases: 1. Introduction
2. Introduction to biological databases
Part II. Sequence Alignment: 3. Pairwise sequence alignment
4. Database similarity search
5. Multiple sequence alignment
6. Profiles and hidden Markov models
7. Protein motifs and patterns
Part III. Gene and Promoter Prediction: 8. Gene prediction
9. Promoter and regulatory element prediction
Part IV. Molecular Phylogenetics: 10. Phylogenetics basics
11. Phylogenetic tree construction methods and programs
Part V. Protein Structure Basics: 12. Protein structure basics
13. Protein structure visualization, comparison and classification
14. Protein secondary structure prediction
15. Protein tertiary structure prediction
16. RNA structure prediction
Part VI. Genomics and Proteomics: 17. Genome mapping, assembly and comparison
18. Functional genomics
19. Proteomics
Practical exercises
Glossary.

Subject Areas: Computer science [UY], Molecular biology [PSD], Genetics [non-medical PSAK]