Genomics

Since the well-publicized completion of the Human Genome Project, genomics has continued at a rapid pace to be recognized as a critical course in the Genetics curriculum. Students wishing to major in Biology will be required to take this course at the upper-undergraduate level. Being a new but core area, it is already established at the graduate level. Enrollments are exploding and the course is here to stay for quite some time. The need for a textbook that describes conceptually, what genomics is all about and how it is done is undisputed. This text will address genomics generally, including methods, and applications. The author intends to build the computational coverage beyond what is reflected in the table of contents. A second author may be added at a later point.

The purpose of the text would be to introduce the readers to the vocabulary and tools of genomics, discuss both the strengths and the limitations of those tools, and to provide some guidance with respect to interfacing genomic analyses with other disciplines in the biological sciences. The book will first introduce genomics at a basic conceptual level that emphases the more global and high throughput analyses that have been integrate into (and serve as a major rationale for) genomic studies. In the introductory chapter it will provide the reader with insights into how such studies may have a practical influence on daily life with respect to quality of life at the level of agricultural, pharmaceutical, environmental and medical practices.

It will start with a basic conceptual picture of genomics and its impact on the public (as well as on scientists). Following this we discuss various aspects of genomics ranging from DNA sequence analyses, expression studies, proteomics, large scale analysis of DNA-protein, protein-protein and protein-ligand interaction, genomic approaches to mutant screens and an extensive exploration of comparative genomics and how it can be used to get insights into gene structure, function and evolution. Another aspect of genomics that will be discussed in some detail will be the application of mathematical methods to genome-wide studies and informatic examination of the information. This will be studied in the context of gene discovery, gene function, gene expression and the evolution of individual genes, gene families and biological processes. We also hope to include how mathematical and statistical applications to genomic information can be used to study the evolution of both processes and organisms. Finally, we will try to include the latest approaches used in genomic analysis and provide a clear concise picture of how and why the newest technologies work and both the power and limitations of these technologies.