Beginning Student
Introduction to the Complete GEP Gene Annotation Process
Developed by Dr. Ken Saville (Albion College) and Dr. Gerard McNeil (York College, City University of New York), this walkthrough provides a comprehensive overview of the entire GEP gene annotation process. This walkthrough includes a brief description of the research problem and step-by-step instructions on how to use the UCSC Genome Browser, FlyBase, the Gene Record Finder and NCBI BLAST to investigate a feature in a Drosophila erecta Muller F element annotation project. The walkthrough then shows how students can use the Gene Model Checker to verify a gene model; it also includes a sample GEP Annotation Report.
Introduction to BLAST using Human Leptin
Dr. Justin R. DiAngelo (Penn State Berks) and Dr. Alexis Nagengast (Widener University) have developed an exercise that introduces students to the basic functionality of the NCBI web site and NCBI BLAST. Students will use NCBI BLAST to identify the putative orthologs of the human Leptin gene in other species.
Module TSS4: Annotation of Broad Transcription Start Sites
This module illustrates the use of computational (e.g., blastn) and experimental (e.g., RAMPAGE, CAGE, RNA PolII ChIP-Seq) data to define the narrow and wide TSS search regions for genes with broad promoters.
Module TSS3: CAGE, RAMPAGE, and RNA Pol II X-ChIP-Seq
This module uses the placement of the Initiator (Inr) motif, TSS annotations produced by the Celniker group at modENCODE, and experimental data such as CAGE, RAMPAGE, and RNA Polymerase II X-ChIP-Seq data to characterize the promoter for the Antp gene in D. melanogaster.
Module TSS2: Using Sequence Alignment to Identify a TSS
This module illustrates how pairwise (blastn) and multiple sequence alignments can be used in conjunction with RNA-Seq data and the Short Match functionality of the UCSC Genome Browser to facilitate the TSS annotation of the Antp gene in D. eugracilis.
Module TSS1: Transcription Start Sites Introduction
This module describes how Celniker TSS annotations, DNase I hypersensitive sites, and the 9-state chromatin models can be used in the classification of promoter shape for the Antp gene.
TSS Module Primer: Review of Transcription, Promoter Structure, and Chromatin Packaging
This primer includes some biological concepts that may be helpful to review prior to working with the four TSS Modules, including: a brief review of gene transcription, mRNA processing, promoter structure, and chromatin.
Glossary for Understanding Eukaryotic Genes
This glossary defines the key terms that are used in the Understanding Eukaryotic Genes modules.