Statistical methods in bioinformatics

Abstract

The linear biopolymers, DNA, RNA, and proteins, are the three central molecular building blocks of life. DNA is an information storage molecule. All of the hereditary information of an individual organism is contained in its genome, which consists of sequences of the four DNA bases (nucleotides), A, T, C, and G. RNA has a wide variety of roles, including a small but important set of functions. Proteins, which are chains of 20 different amino acid residues, are the action molecules of life, being responsible for nearly all the functions of all living beings and forming many of life's structures. All protein sequences are coded by segments of the genome called genes. The universal genetic doe is used to translate triplets of DNA bases, called codons, to the 20-letter alphabet of proteins. How genetic information flows from DNA to RNA and then to protein is regarded as the central dogma of molecular biology. Genome sequencing projects with emergences of microarray techniques have resulted in rapidly growing and publicly available databases of DNA and protein sequences, structures, and genome-wide expression. One of the most interesting questions scientists are concerned with is how to get any useful biological information from mining these databases.