Biotechnological Advances in Methods for Functional Analysis of Genes

Abstract

This review was written in an attempt to present the reader with a decent spectrum of the available methods for gene function analysis that have been applied in the past decade. Knowledge emanating from the functional analysis of genes has applications in the fields of genetics and genomics, medical diagnostics, the pharmaceutical industry and in plant and animal biotechnology. DNA sequencing provides the primary data for the functional analysis of genes by determining the sequence order of nucleic acid residues of a DNA molecule. Computational tools are then used for characterization of genes, prediction of function, establishing structural and physiochemical properties of proteins, phylogenetic analyses, and performing simulations of the cellular interactions of biomolecules. Gene expression is done to analyse promoter activity, detect RNA transcript levels, monitor protein expression and post-translational modification. The most common purpose of a gene expression study is to find statistically differentially expressed genes. One way to understand the function of a gene is to observe a biological system that lacks that gene. Several techniques have been developed to alter a gene sequence to result in an inactivated gene. The emergence of genome-editing technologies has provided new tools for introducing sequence-specific modifications into genomes.

Keywords: Gene function, Mutation, Gene expression, Genome editing