Question

Discuss about bio-informatics and its applications in about 300 words with examples.

Answer 1

Bioinformatics is the amalgamation of biology and informatics to collect, interpret and analyze biological data. It combines the areas of computer science, biology, mathematics and statistics.Paulien Hogeweg invented the term Bioinformatics in 1979

Various bioinformatics tools are required for correct interpretation of huge amounts of information relating to DNA, RNA and protein sequences, gene expression , protein structure, biological pathways, signaling pathways.

A major breakthrough in the field of biotechnology came with the use of mathematical and computer based tools to assemble the human genome sequence. 3.2 billion long sequence of human genome could not be determined with conventional sequencing methods like sangers method. Therefore, small fragments of human DNA were sequenced seperately and then assembled using bioinformatics tools.

Bioinformatics finds its application in fields like personlized medicine, drug discovery, gene therapy, gene prediction, metagenomics, agriculture etc. In drug discovery, computational tools can be used to identify and validate new drug targets. Improved new drugs tend to have specific effects against the disease and fewer side effects.

At present doctors prescribe medicines based on common symptoms, which may or may not have any beneficial effect on the patient. With the use of bioinformatics, genome sequences of individual patients can be determined. This would enable doctors to analyze patient's  genetic profile and prescribe the best available drugs from the begining. Genome wide mutation studies in genomes of patients with certain type disease could help in diagnosis of such disease in future patients.

In agriculture, genome sequences of staple food crops like tomato , rice etc would aid in studying molecular events underlying fruit development, response to pathogen infection and stress resistance. Such studies will help in creating improved crop varieties having pathogen resistance or high nutritional value.  

Metagenomics largely relies on bioinformatics. It involves sequencing of DNA from the genomes of all organisms present in a particular sample, and has become a common method for the study of microbiome population structure and function. Such studies can lead to discovery of novel genes and enzymes having potential application in industrial or pharmaceutical industry.