Sequence -- Evolution -- Function : Computational Approaches in Comparative Genomics

**Sequence - Evolution - Function** is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis. **Sequence - Evolution - Function** should help bridge the "digital divide" between biologists and computer scientists, allowing biologists to better grasp the peculiarities of the emerging field of Genome Biology and to learn how to benefit from the enormous amount of sequence data available in the public databases. The book is non-technical with respect to the computer methods for genome analysis and discusses these methods from the user's viewpoint, without addressing mathematical and algorithmic details. Prior practical familiarity with the basic methods for sequence analysis is a major advantage, but a reader without such experience will be able to use the book as an introduction to these methods. This book is perfect for introductory level courses in computational methods for comparative and functional genomics. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: Personal Interludes....Pages 1-1 Genomics: From Phage to Human....Pages 3-24 Evolutionary Concept in Genetics and Genomics....Pages 25-49 Information Sources for Genomics....Pages 51-110 Principles and Methods of Sequence Analysis....Pages 111-192 Genome Annotation and Analysis....Pages 193-226 Comparative Genomics and New Evolutionary Biology....Pages 227-294 Evolution of Central Metabolic Pathways: The Playground of Non-orthologous Gene Displacement....Pages 295-355 Genomes and the Protein Universe....Pages 357-369 Epilogue: Peering through the crystal ball....Pages 371-380 Back Matter....Pages 381-461