Comparative Genomics

The goal of genomics is to promote the understanding of the structure, function and evolution of genomes in all kingdoms of life and the application of genome sciences and technologies to challenging problems in biology and medicine. Comparative genomics is a field of biological research in which the genomic features of different organisms are compared. The genomic features may include the DNA sequence, genes, gene order, regulatory sequences, and other genomic structural landmarks. In this branch of genomics, whole or large parts of genomes resulting from genome projects are compared to study basic biological similarities and differences as well as evolutionary relationships between organisms. The major principle of comparative genomics is that common features of two organisms will often be encoded within the DNA that is evolutionarily conserved between them. Therefore, comparative genomic approaches start with making some form of alignment of genome sequences and looking for orthologous sequences (sequences that share a common ancestry) in the aligned genomes and checking to what extent those sequences are conserved. Based on these, genome and molecular evolution are inferred and this may in turn be put in the context of, for example, phenotypic evolution or population genetics. Comparative genomics is an exciting field of biological research in which researchers use a variety of tools, including computer-based analysis, to compare the complete genome sequences of different species. By carefully comparing characteristics that define various organisms – including the genomes of organisms ranging from humans to chimpanzees to yeast – researchers can pinpoint regions of similarity and difference. This information can help scientists better understand the structure and function of human genes, and develop new strategies to combat human disease. This book provides a unique interdisciplinary overview of genomics and proteomics based upon recent researchers in computational and experimental approaches to expression analysis, functional gene identification, functional aspects of higher order DNA structure, the relationship between protein sequence, structure and function and genetic and medical aspects of genomics.