Wheaton genome researchers publish findings in journal
September 14, 2000
[NORTON, Mass.] -- Research findings of the Wheaton genome research team are being reported in this month's issue of "Genome Research," giving two undergraduates their first publication credit in a scholarly journal and marking a milestone in the team's work in this fast-growing area of research.
The team's paper advances scientists' understanding of how to decipher the information of intergenic DNA sequences and also demonstrates the efficacy of the developing field of bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary area that melds biology and computer science.
The findings were reported by Wheaton Professor of Biology Betsey Dyer, Associate Professor of Computer Science Mark LeBlanc, senior Nathan P. Buggia of Monmouth, Maine, and recently graduated Glen Aspeslagh of Groton, Mass. The paper carries the title, "An Annotated Catalog of Inverted Repeats of Caenorhabditis elegans Chromosomes III and X, with Observations Concerning Odd/Even Biases and Conserved Motifs."
An abstract of the paper is available online at: http://www.genome.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/9/1381
This field of bioinformatics, which allows analysis of vast amounts of scientific data, is being employed by many biotech and pharmaceutical companies, though specialists familiar with the techniques are in short supply. While the uses extend far beyond biology, the most common usage is in the analysis of DNA sequences.
With lab facilities funded by the National Science Foundation, Professors Dyer and LeBlanc are using computer algorithms to uncover DNA's rules of grammar. The discovery tools they are developing enable a user to find regulatory sequences in the intergenic areas of the genome. These all-important regulatory sequences are the pieces of code that, for example, instruct eyes to develop in the front of the head instead of all over the body.
Wheaton College is a selective liberal arts college located in Norton, Mass. with a 1,500-member student body drawn from 45 states and 35 countries. It is a member of the Twelve College Exchange, which also includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan and Williams.