Malaria research in the post-genomic era

Within the next few years, the complete genomic sequences of Plasmodium falciparum, and potentially several other Plasmodium spp, will be available to researchers worldwide. These complete genomic sequence data are certain to provide the foundation for nearly all malaria research in the next decades, as discussed here by Dan Carucci.     

Borrelia pathogenesis research in the post-genomic and post-vaccine era

In the two years after publication of the genome sequence of Borrelia burgdorferi and reports on human field trials of a vaccine against Lyme borreliosis, there has been further progress in understanding of host-parasite interactions during Lyme borreliosis and relapsing fever. Some mechanisms that Borrelia spirochetes use to avoid elimination and to persist in the host are novel. In addition, the recent discovery of antigenic variation in the Lyme disease agent B. burgdorferi adds to the complexity of the possible virulence properties of this human pathogen.     

Microbiology in the post-genomic era

Genomics has revolutionized every aspect of microbiology. Now, 13 years after the first bacterial genome was sequenced, it is important to pause and consider what has changed in microbiology research as a consequence of genomics. In this article, we review the evolving field of bacterial typing and the genomic technologies that enable comparative analysis of multiple genomes and the metagenomes of complex microbial environments, and address the implications of the genomic era for the future of microbiology.     

Bioinformatics in the post-genomic era

The Bioinformatics and Genome Research conference, one of the Cambridge Healthtech Institute's ‘Beyond the Genome’ conferences, was held 17–19 June 2001 in San Francisco, California, USA.     

Membrane traffic in the post-genomic era

A multi-parametric genetic screening approach sheds light on integrated control of the endocytic pathway in mammalian cells.     

Host-pathogen studies in the post-genomic era

Several studies are starting to show the power of DNA microarrays to identify interactions between animal hosts and their pathogens, and have revealed interesting correlations between host responses to different infectious agents.     

后基因组时代的工业生物技术

简述了工业生物技术的发展背景和意义,分析了基因组学和功能基因组学发展对工业生物技术的推动作用,重点介绍了本期专刊发表的代谢工程、发酵工程以及工业酶与生物催化领域的17篇论文。     

Protein folding in the post-genomic era

Protein folding is a topic of fundamental interest since it concerns the mechanisms by which the genetic message is translated into the three-dimensional and functional structure of proteins. In these post-genomic times, the knowledge of the fundamental principles are required in the exploitation of the information contained in the increasing number of sequenced genomes. Protein folding also has practical applications in the understanding of different pathologies and the development of novel therapeutics to prevent diseases associated with protein misfolding and aggregation. Significant advances have been made ranging from the Anfinsen postulate to the "new view" which describes the folding process in terms of an energy landscape. These new insights arise from both theoretical and experimental studies. The problem of folding in the cellular environment is briefly discussed. The modern view of misfolding and aggregation processes that are involved in several pathologies such as prion and Alzheimer diseases. Several approaches of structure prediction, which is a very active field of research, are described.     

Looking beyond the post-genomic era

A report on BioMed Central’s fourth annual Beyond the Genome conference held at the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay Conference Center, USA, 1–3 October 2013.     

后基因组时代的生物信息学

随着人类基因组计划的完成,不断积累的巨量的生物学数据和快速发展的信息学技术,给后基因组时代的生物信息学研究带来了新的挑战。该文对后基因组时代的生物信息学研究内容进行了比较全面的描述,分别就其研究对象和研究方向作了区别讨论,分析了生物信息学研究的现状和趋势,比较了国内外的研究发展情况和差距。针对我国在研究中所存在的主要问题,提出了建议并做了展望。     

Lipids join the post-genomic era

A report of the meeting 'From Proteomics to Lipidomics - Basics, Advances and Applications', Bonn, Germany, 30 June-1 July 2006.     

Computational cell biology in the post-genomic era

Rapid accumulation of biological data from novel high throughput technologies characteristic of genomic and proteomic research as well as advances in more traditional biological disciplines are leading to wider use of detailed and complex computational models of cell behavior. These models address a variety of dynamic intracellular processes ranging from interactions within a gene regulation network to intracellular and intercellular signal transduction. This review focuses on the current trends in computation cell biology, particularly emphasizing the role of experimental validation. The recent successes and future challenges facing computational cell biology are also discussed.     

Human nutrition and food research: opportunities and challenges in the post-genomic era

Sequencing of the human genome has opened the door to the most exciting new era for nutritional science. It is now possible to study the underlying mechanisms for diet-health relationships, and in the near future dietary advice (and possibly tailored food products) for promoting optimal health could be provided on an individual basis, in relation to genotype and lifestyle. The role of food in human evolution is briefly reviewed, from palaeolithic times to modern-day hunter-gatherer societies. The aetiology of 'diseases of modern civilization', such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and the effect of changes in dietary patterns are discussed. The risk of disease is often associated with common single nucleotide polymorphisms, but the effect is dependent on dietary intake and nutritional status, and is often more apparent in intervention studies employing a metabolic challenge. To understand the link between diet and health, nutritional research must cover a broad range of areas, from molecular to whole body studies, and is an excellent example of integrative biology, requiring a systems biology approach. The annual cost to the National Health Service of diet-related diseases is estimated to be in excess of 15 billion, and although diet is a key component of any preventative strategy, it is not given the prominence it deserves. For example, less than 1% of the pound 1.6 billion budget for coronary heart disease is spent on prevention. The polygenic and multifactorial nature of chronic diseases requires substantial resources but the potential rewards, in terms of quality of life and economics, are enormous. It is timely therefore to consider investing in a long-term coordinated national programme for nutrition research, combining nutritional genomics with established approaches, to improve the health of individuals and of the nation.     

Bacterial flagellar diversity in the post-genomic era

Flagellar biosynthesis has been studied most thoroughly in laboratory strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. However, genome sequencing has uncovered flagellar loci in distantly related bacteria. We have used homology searches to determine how far the E. coli/S. enterica paradigm can be generalised to other flagellar systems. Numerous previously unrecognized homologues of flagellar components were discovered, including novel FlgM, FlgN, FliK and FliO homologues. Homology was found between the FliK proteins and a molecular ruler, YscP, from a virulence-associated type-III secretion system. Also described is a new family of flagellar proteins, the FlhX proteins, which resemble the cytoplasmic domain of FlhB.     

Models-of-data and models-of-processes in the post-genomic era

As we are entering the post-genomic era, models-of-data, such as mining and filtering methods for gene sequences and microarrays and the clustering of co-expressed genes, must be complemented with models-of-processes that explain relationships between genomic information and phenomena at biochemical and physiological levels. Many of these models will have the structure of compartment models, whose conceptualization, identification and analysis will fundamentally benefit from the seminal work of John Jacquez. The article indicates with three vignettes that non-linear compartment models in the formulation of biochemical systems theory are viable candidates for post-genomic models-of-processes.     

Proteomics--a new player in the post-genomic era

In the post-genomic era the concept of personalized medicine and molecular medicine emphasizes the utility of the proteomics approach. Proteomics is the global analysis of cellular proteins and complements the genomics approach. Proteins, in principle do all the work of the cell and ultimately dictate all biological processes and the cellular fate. Proteomics uses a combination of sophisticated techniques including two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis, image analysis, mass spectrometry, amino acid sequencing and bioinformatics to identify and characterize proteins. This review aims at providing the various approaches and pitfalls associated with this technique and gives a brief overview of the utility of this approach in the area of biomedical research.     

Target discovery and validation in the post-genomic era

The recent publication of the human genome sequence provides an opportunity both to combat diseases that are presently considered as pharmaceutically intractable and also to improve current therapies for many common human diseases. The identification of every human gene by ongoing bioinformatic efforts has the potential, when combined with functional genomic approaches, to pinpoint the molecular basis of every human disease, and to discover appropriate intervention points. This exciting prospect is directly relevant to the successful development of effective therapeutics because the past record of drug discovery suggests that 30%–40% of experimental drugs fail because an inappropriate biological target was pursued. The major impact of genomic information may therefore be to reduce this biological failure rate by earlier definition of drug targets related to disease susceptibility or progression. This paper briefly reviews some of the approaches that can be used to identify biologically relevant drug targets.