Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that uses computational tools to analyze and

interpret biological data, particularly DNA and protein sequences. It combines biology,
computer science, mathematics, and statistics to understand and solve problems in molecular
biology, genetics, and other related fields.
Key aspects of bioinformatics:
 Data Analysis:
Bioinformatics involves collecting, storing, organizing, and analyzing large datasets of
biological information, such as DNA sequences, protein structures, and gene expression data.
 Computational Tools:
It utilizes various algorithms, software, and databases to perform tasks like sequence
alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and genomic data mining.
 Interdisciplinary Nature:
Bioinformatics draws upon knowledge from biology, computer science, mathematics, and
statistics to develop effective analytical methods.
 Applications:
It has a wide range of applications, including drug discovery, disease diagnosis, personalized
medicine, and evolutionary biology.
 Emergence of the Field:
Bioinformatics emerged in the 1990s as a result of the increasing availability of biological
data, particularly from genome sequencing projects.
In simpler terms:

Bioinformatics is like using computers to solve puzzles in biology. It helps scientists

understand how DNA and proteins work together, how they evolve, and how they relate to
diseases. By combining biology with computational tools, bioinformatics allows scientists to
tackle complex biological problems and make new discoveries.
Bioinformatics is an emerging branch of biological science that emerged from the
combination of both biology and information technology. It is an interdisciplinary field of
study that uses Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science that have
merged to form a single discipline. This sector is mainly involved in analyzing biological
data, and developing new software using biological tools.
According to the NCBI- National Center for Biotechnology Information, the branch of NLM-
National Library of Medicine and NIH- National Institutes of Health, Bioinformatics is
defined as the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, recovery, storage
and visualization of all biological information using computation technology.
The term Bioinformatics was first coined in the year 1960 by the two Dutch biologists named
Paulien Hogeweg and Ben Hesper. According to their research and
discoveries, Bioinformatics was defined as the study of information processes in biotic
systems.

 With a large number of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes completely sequenced

and more forthcoming, access to the genomic information and synthesizing it for the
discovery of new knowledge have become central themes of modern biological
research.
 Mining the genomic information requires the use of sophisticated computational tools.
 It therefore becomes imperative for the new generation of biologists to initiate and
familiarize with a field of study that is concerned with the careful storage,
organization and indexing of information in order to tackle the new challenges in the
genomic era.
 Information science has been applied to biology to produce a field is called
bioinformatics.
 It is concerned with the state of- the-art computational tools available to solve
biological research problems.
 The term bioinformatics was coined by Paulien Hogeweg and Ben Hesper to describe
“the study of informatic processes in biotic systems” and it found early use when the
first biological sequence data began to be shared.
 Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software
tools for understanding biological data.
 The development of bioinformatics as a field is the result of advances in both
molecular biology and computer science over the past 30–40 years.
 As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines biology, computer
science, information engineering, mathematics and statistics to analyze and interpret
biological data.
 The key areas of bioinformatics include biological databases, sequence alignment,
gene and promoter prediction, molecular phylogenetics, structural bioinformatics,
genomics, and proteomics.
Bioinformatics vs Computational Biology
 Bioinformatics differs from a related field known as computational biology.
 Bioinformatics is limited to sequence, structural, and functional analysis of genes and
genomes and their corresponding products and is often considered computational
molecular biology.
 However, computational biology encompasses all biological areas that involve
computation.
 Bioinformatics as the development and application of computational tools in
managing all kinds of biological data, whereas computational biology is more
confined to the theoretical development of algorithms used for bioinformatics.
Applications of Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is mainly used to extract knowledge from biological data through the
development of algorithms and software.
Bioinformatics is widely applied in the examination of Genomics, Proteomics, 3D structure
modelling of Proteins, Image analysis, Drug designing and a lot more. A significant
application of bioinformatics can be found in the fields of precision and preventive
medicines, which are mainly focused on developing measures to prevent, control and cure
dreadful infectious diseases.
The main aim of Bioinformatics is to increase the understanding of biological processes.
Bioinformatics has not only become essential for basic genomic and molecular biology
research, but is having a major impact on many areas of biotechnology and biomedical
sciences. The main uses of bioinformatics include:
  Bioinformatics plays a vital role in the areas of structural genomics, functional
genomics, and nutritional genomics.
 It covers emerging scientific research and the exploration of proteomes from the
overall level of intracellular protein composition (protein profiles), protein structure,
protein-protein interaction, and unique activity patterns (e.g. post-translational
modifications).
 Bioinformatics is used for transcriptome analysis where mRNA expression levels can
be determined.
 Bioinformatics is used to identify and structurally modify a natural product, to design
a compound with the desired properties and to assess its therapeutic effects,
theoretically.
 Cheminformatics analysis includes analyses such as similarity searching, clustering,
QSAR modeling, virtual screening, etc.
 Bioinformatics is playing an increasingly important role in almost all aspects of drug
discovery and drug development.
 Bioinformatics tools are very effective in prediction, analysis and interpretation of
clinical and preclinical findings.
Applications in Other Fields
Its major applications include in the following fields:
Molecular medicine
 The human genome will have profound effects on the fields of biomedical research
and clinical medicine.
 The completion of the human genome and the use of bioinformatic tools means that
we can search for the genes directly associated with different diseases and begin to
understand the molecular basis of these diseases more clearly.
 This new knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of disease will enable better
treatments, cures and even preventative tests to be developed.
Gene therapy
 In the not too distant future with the use of bioinformatics tool, the potential for using
genes themselves to treat disease may become a reality.
 Gene therapy is the approach used to treat, cure or even prevent disease by changing
the expression of a person’s genes.
Climate change Studies
 Increasing levels of carbon dioxide emission, mainly through the expanding use of
fossil fuels for energy, are thought to contribute to global climate change.
 Recently, the DOE (Department of Energy, USA) launched a program to decrease
atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
  One method of doing so is to study the genomes of microbes that use carbon dioxide
as their sole carbon source.
Alternative energy sources
 Scientists are studying the genome of the microbe Chlorobium tepidum which has an
unusual capacity for generating energy from light
Biotechnology
 The archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus and the bacterium Thermotoga maritima have
potential for practical applications in industry and government-funded environmental
remediation.
 These microorganisms thrive in water temperatures above the boiling point and
therefore may provide the DOE, the Department of Defence, and private companies
with heat-stable enzymes suitable for use in industrial processes
 Other industrially useful microbes include, Corynebacterium glutamicum which is of
high industrial interest as a research object because it is used by the chemical industry
for the biotechnological production of the amino acid lysine.
 The substance is employed as a source of protein in animal nutrition.
 Biotechnologically produced lysine is added to feed concentrates as a source of
protein, and is an alternative to soybeans or meat and bonemeal.
 Lactococcus lactis is one of the most important micro-organisms involved in the dairy
industry.
 Researchers anticipate that understanding the physiology and genetic make-up of this
bacterium will prove invaluable for food manufacturers as well as the pharmaceutical
industry, which is exploring the capacity of lactis to serve as a vehicle for delivering
drugs.
Antibiotic resistance
 Scientists have been examining the genome of Enterococcus faecalis-a leading cause
of bacterial infection among hospital patients.
 They have discovered a virulence region made up of a number of antibiotic-resistant
genes that may contribute to the bacterium’s transformation from a harmless gut
bacteria to a menacing invader.
 The discovery of the region, known as a pathogenicity island, could provide useful
markers for detecting pathogenic strains and help to establish controls to prevent the
spread of infection in wards.
Forensic analysis of microbes
 Scientists used their genomic tools to help distinguish between the strain of Bacillus
anthracis that was used in the summer of 2001 terrorist attack in Florida with that of
closely related anthrax strains.
The reality of bioweapon creation
 Scientists have recently built the virus poliomyelitis using entirely artificial means.
 They did this using genomic data available on the Internet and materials from a mail-
order chemical supply.
 The research was financed by the US Department of Defence as part of a biowarfare
response program to prove to the world the reality of bioweapons.
 The researchers also hope their work will discourage officials from ever relaxing
programs of immunisation.
 This project has been met with very mixed feelings.
Evolutionary studies
 The sequencing of genomes from all three domains of life, eukaryota, bacteria and
archaea means that evolutionary studies can be performed in a quest to determine the
tree of life and the last universal common ancestor.
Crop improvement
 Comparative genetics of the plant genomes has shown that the organisation of their
genes has remained more conserved over evolutionary time than was previously
believed.
 These findings suggest that information obtained from the model crop systems can be
used to suggest improvements to other food crops.
 At present the complete genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana (water cress) and Oryza
sativa (rice) are available.
Insect resistance
 Genes from Bacillus thuringiensis that can control a number of serious pests have
been successfully transferred to cotton, maize and potatoes.
 This new ability of the plants to resist insect attack means that the amount of
insecticides being used can be reduced and hence the nutritional quality of the crops is
increased.
Improve nutritional quality
 Scientists have recently succeeded in transferring genes into rice to increase levels of
Vitamin A, iron and other micronutrients.
 This work could have a profound impact in reducing occurrences of blindness and
anaemia caused by deficiencies in Vitamin A and iron respectively.
 Scientists have inserted a gene from yeast into the tomato, and the result is a plant
whose fruit stays longer on the vine and has an extended shelf life.
Development of Drought resistance varieties
  Progress has been made in developing cereal varieties that have a greater tolerance for
soil alkalinity, free aluminium and iron toxicities.
 These varieties will allow agriculture to succeed in poorer soil areas, thus adding
more land to the global production base.
 Research is also in progress to produce crop varieties capable of tolerating reduced
water conditions.
Veterinary Science
 Sequencing projects of many farm animals including cows, pigs and sheep are now
well under way in the hope that a better understanding of the biology of these
organisms will have huge impacts for improving the production and health of
livestock and ultimately have benefits for human nutrition.
Comparative Studies
 Analysing and comparing the genetic material of different species is an important
method for studying the functions of genes, the mechanisms of inherited diseases and
species evolution.
 Bioinformatics tools can be used to make comparisons between the numbers,
locations and biochemical functions of genes in different organisms.