Instructor: Prof. Steven Salzberg, 3125
Biomolecular Sciences Building
Course
Description
This
course will
introduce students to two of the key problem areas in bioinformatics
and genomics, computational gene finding and genome sequence
assembly. The first half of the course
will address the genome assembly problem,
considering both small-scale and large-scale versions as well as
recent challenges arising from the sequencing of mixed populations
and highly polymorphic organisms. The
second half of the course will cover the gene finding
problem in the two major classes of living organisms, prokaryotes and
eukaryotes. Algorithms and strategies for finding genes in the
genomes of these organisms, including both ab initio and
homology-based approaches, will be described and discussed. The course
will focus on the
practical computational problems that arise in current genome
sequencing and analysis projects on a wide range of species.
Introductory lectures will cover the necessary background material in
molecular biology and genomics.
Prerequisites:
CMSC 420, CMSC 435, CMSC 451, or permission of the instructor. CMSC
858E Algorithms for Biosequence Analysis is recommended but not
required. If in doubt about preparation, students are encouraged to
contact the instructor directly prior to the beginning of the
semester.
Course
schedule and syllabus (updated continuously throughout the semester)
Class
format
and grading
Grades will be
determined by performance on homework assignments, class
presentations, a final exam, and a small project.
Textbook: Computational Gene
Prediction (CGP) by William H. Majoros
Supplemental texts, free online at the NCBI
Bookshelf (click title to view):
Molecular
Biology of the Cell, by Bruce
Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts,
and Peter Walter. Garland Publishing, 2002.
Genomes,
by T.A. Brown, BIOS Scientific Publishers, 2002.
Course meeting times for Fall
2008: Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 12:30-1:45pm, Room 3118 Biomolecular Sciences Bldg
296. See this
link for the official schedule.
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