Understanding the Proteomics of Medicinal Plants under Environmental Pollution
Azamal Husen in Environmental Pollution and Medicinal Plants, 2022
The novel ‘omics’ technologies enable researchers to identify the genetics underlying medicinal plant responses to adaptation mechanisms providing impetus to investigate the complex interplay between medicinal plants, their metabolism, secondary metabolite production, and the effect of polluting environment. The genome can be defined as the complete set of genes inside a cell. Genomics is, therefore, the study of the genetic make-up of organisms. Transcriptomics is the complete set of transcripts in a cell, and their abundance, for a specific developmental stage or physiological condition (Wang et al. 2009). Proteins play an important role in biological processes by providing structural support as well as physiological functions (Figure 12.1). The complete set of proteins in a cell refers to as proteome (Park 2004). Metabolomics is the latest technique, is defined as the quantitative complement of low-molecular-weight metabolites present in a cell under a given set of physiological conditions (Kell et al. 2005). In view of these, the changes at the cellular or subcellular level due to impacting influence of environmental stimulus can be more precisely understood through omics technologies (Figure 12.2).
The Evolution of Anticancer Therapies
David E. Thurston, Ilona Pysz in Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs, 2021
Even before the structure of DNA was elucidated in the 1950s, it was known that genetic information resides in the chromosomes and that some human diseases can be passed on through the generations. After the structure of DNA was established, interest in finding sequences of DNA that may relate to specific diseases became intense. This led to the Human Genome Project, an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the sequence of nucleotide base pairs that make up human DNA, and of mapping and identifying all of the genes of the human genome from both a functional and physical standpoint. The HGP began in 1990 and was declared complete on 14 April 2003 and remains the world’s largest collaborative biological project. Initially, funding was provided by the US government through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as numerous other groups from around the world. However, a parallel project was conducted in the commercial sector by Celera Genomics which was launched in 1998. Most of the government-sponsored sequencing was performed in 20 universities across the world in countries including the US, UK, Japan, Germany, France, and China. The HGP had an official logo represented by the Vitruvian Man sketch drawn by Leonardo da Vinci (Figure 2.4).
Awesome analysis
Brendan Curran in A Terrible Beauty is Born, 2020
Genome is the word used to denote all of the DNA sequences that an organism possesses. As creatures became more complex, they required more genes to encode the proteins for their structures, maintenance and reproduction. Multi-cellular organisms (the plants and animals we see all about us), not surprisingly, possess genomes substantially larger and significantly more complex than those of single-celled species like bacteria or yeast. The simple nematode worm, with a body containing fewer than 1,000 cells, requires 19,099 genes in order to function, whereas the assembly of a human body with 50 trillion cells needs an additional 55,000 genes which are not found in the simpler nematode. Complex genomes also contain large chunks of genetic material with no apparent role for encoding cellular proteins. This non-coding DNA, often called junk, may act as a reservoir from which new genes with novel functions can emerge, although nobody really knows for sure why it is there; it is so prevalent in higher organisms that only 90 million of the 3 billion bases in the human genome actually encode proteins! About 97% of our DNA is junk.
An overview of sex and reproductive immunity from an evolutionary/anthropological perspective
Published in Immunological Medicine, 2021
Yoshihiko Araki, Hiroshi Yoshitake, Kenji Yamatoya, Hiroshi Fujiwara
So how did mammals acquire the placenta? The human genome (all the DNA on chromosomes) is composed of approximately 3 billion base pairs. However, only a small proportion of the genome actually encodes proteins (the structural genes). The remaining genome contains sequences called ‘transposons’ [21], some of which are thought to be derived from ‘retroviruses’ such as human immunodeficiency virus. This suggests that during viral infections throughout evolutionary history, viruses were incorporated into the chromosomes of the infected organisms and passed down to the next generation through assimilation. The placenta has a completely different shape depending on the species. One hypothesis is that genes derived from retroviruses, Peg10/Sirh1 and Peg11/Sirh2, were important in the evolution of placental development [22–24]. The diversity of placental form and function is thought to be the result of successive, independent events [25].
Enteroviruses and coronaviruses: similarities and therapeutic targets
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 2021
Varpu Marjomäki, Kerttu Kalander, Maarit Hellman, Perttu Permi
Coronaviruses are also RNA viruses containing a single-strand genome of positive polarity [30]. The size of the genome is huge, one of the largest among RNA viruses, approximately 30 kb. The size of the virus is around 120–160 nm in diameter and, being an enveloped virus, the shape is somewhat irregular, rounded, or oval (Figure 1). The spikes on the envelope, formed by S protein, bring the peculiar corona outlook for the virus. The coronavirus also encodes three other structural proteins, membrane (M) protein, nucleocapsid (N) protein, and envelope (E) protein. The N protein binds to the viral RNA and is involved in viral replication and translation. The M protein, located in the envelope is responsible for the coronavirus assembly. The S-protein is important for binding to the receptor(s) on the cell surface and in fusion with the endosomal membrane to release the viral RNA to the cytoplasm for efficient translation and replication. The small E protein has roles in virus binding to cells, in virus assembly and membrane permeability. The genome altogether encodes for 16 non-structural proteins (Nsp1-16), including the proteases Nsp3, a multi-domain protein containing a papain-like protease ([31] Lei et al., Antiviral Res. 2018) and Nsp5, the main protease, or 3 C-like protease [28].
Use of omic technologies in early life gastrointestinal health and disease: from bench to bedside
Published in Expert Review of Proteomics, 2021
Lauren C Beck, Claire L Granger, Andrea C Masi, Christopher J Stewart
Genetic predisposition to pediatric disease makes genomic studies of significant importance. Genomics is the study of the whole genome of an organism, and in a clinical context it can be used to map and identify genetic variants and potential risk factors that can contribute to certain diseases [34]. There are a number of genomic associated studies, namely genome-wide association studies (GWAS), whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES). GWAS looks to identify genetic variation associated with specific diseases by genotyping thousands of individuals for genetic markers, which then allows specific genetic variants to be associated with disease [35]. WGS aims to sequence the entire genome rather than just focusing on genetic markers, which ultimately captures the more rare genetic variants associated with both common and rare diseases [35,36]. Finally, WES involves sequencing the protein-coding regions of the genome, otherwise known as the exome. This approach is less expensive than WGS and well justified, since the vast majority of allelic variants known to underlie Mendelian disorders disrupt protein-coding sequences [37].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Chloroplast DNA
- DNA
- Mitochondrial DNA
- Molecular Biology
- Nucleotide
- Rna
- Genetics
- DNA
- Rna
- Rna Virus
- NON-Coding DNA
- Junk DNA
- Mitochondrial DNA
- Chloroplast DNA