Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Dr. Min's Seminar
This coming Friday, Dr. "Jack" Min will be presenting some of his innovative work in the development of bioinformatic tools. This topic is becoming more and more important as science moves from the bench to the server. Please read Dr. Min's suggested reading before coming to seminar and sit back for what I am sure will be an interesting presentation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dr. Min presentation on Alternative splicing in plants was so interesting. He first took us through his academic journey from a plant physiologist to bioinformatics, so many changes took place in his career path to where he is now.
ReplyDeleteBioinformatics is the use of computational tools for acquiring, storing and analyzing biological information or molecular sequence information. it involves the analysis of proteins, genes and genomes using computer algorithms and computer databases.
Dr. Min's students were able to use software to identify sequences and perform alternative splicing(the removal of introns)in cereals and fruits. what was the importance of alternative splicing in plants?
Bioinformatics is an interesting field because it makes analysis of biological information or data easy.
ReplyDeleteAlternative splicing is the removal of introns through splicing of precursor mRNA transcripts. This is done because about 90% of the protein coding genes are interrupted genes(introns) which are needed to be cut post transcriptionally to create translatable mRNAs.
One importance of alternative splicing is that it helps to regulate the environmental fitness of plants. This includes knowing the right moment to flower, their circadian clock and stress response.
I loved that Dr. Min shared some of his back story with us and shed some light on how he came to teach at YSU.
ReplyDeleteAlternative splicing allowed for the removal of introns which is useful with trying to identify specific genetic codes. The genetic databases and the use of bioinformatics is an important tool to gather and analysize the mass amounts of genetic data that is collected. I think bioinformatics will continue and progress to be a major field of study especially as the collection of genetic information expands. I think the class he offers would provide the knowledge to analysize genomic information and use databases which will become even more prevalent in the future of biology.
Alternate splicing is a process that can enhance the functional diversity of genes. Alternative splicing in plants contributes to evolutionary selection of regulation of mechanisms related to gene expression. Also, alternative splicing can increase the adaptability/fitness of plants in their respective environments. This has implications for improving crop phenotypes.
ReplyDeleteI thought Dr. Min's presentation was very interesting as I had no other previous knowledge on his bioinformatics course. It is now a course that I am very interested in taking.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of alternative splicing in plants was that it aids in the environmental fitness of plants. This is useful because it would help in producing more successful plants for their next set of generations that are grown.
I agree with Anna, I also enjoy listening to the backstories of our professors and learning about the paths they took to get to where they are in their respective fields. I found Dr. Min's presentation very interesting and am now interested in learning more about bioinformatics and the possibilities it has for the future of science. As for the importance of alternative splicing in plants was that it can regulate transcription levels and aid in the adaptability of plants by regulating plant processes. This will impact strategies that will improve plant and crop phenotypes for future generations.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that Dr. Min's original area of study was with plants, and thought that was a cool thing to discover. Upon looking up some of his work at the YSU bioinformatics site, I was thoroughly impressed by the talent and depth of his work. Alternate splicing is an important mechanism for plants to adapt to their environment by changing levels of gene expression. Understanding how plants alternately splice will allow us to adapt crops to withstand harmful environmental changes. Dr. Cooper was right when he said bioinformatics is the future as we gather more and more data we need to be able to sort through it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI thought it was interesting listening to Dr. Min speak about his background and his research. As for the question, alternative splicing involves splicing pre-mRNA to remove introns. This is done in several ways to yield a variable number of different mRNAs. This type of regulation allows plants to be able to possess more protein diversity, which can help the plant adapt to its environment. Bioinformatics has provided methods to understand this genetic variation response and the regulome of plants, which is why it is such an important emerging field of biology.
DeleteAfter listening to Dr. Mins talk, and Dr. Coopers explanation about how the future bioinformatics will have a profound impact on how we do research. it also provides a massive amount of meta data that would otherwise have never been developed. To answer Steficahs question, alternate splicing allows for the combination of different introns and exons. This in turns provides different forms of gene expression that would not be exhibited otherwise. A process of alternative splicing helps with an organisms ability to adapt to its environment, by producing new and favorable gene products.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard of how successful Dr. Min is and it was definitely interesting to hear his story firsthand. So crazy that he started out in plant physiology and now studies biomechanics. Biomechanics seems intriguing and is clearly becoming pertinent to the future of science. In regards to Steficah's question, the importance of alternative splicing in plants is to provide them with environmental fitness. Working out the environmental conditionals best suited for the plant to maximally thrive could result in an increase in growth or even the products produced by the plants.
ReplyDeleteI hear about Dr. Min and his skills in nearly every class, because it seems that each professor in our department has struggled with some bioinformatic problem or research and Dr. Min has been able to help them out. I had not know that his journey actually started in China, nor had I known that plant physiology was his first field of study. The importance of alternative splicing in plants cannot be understated. Alternative RNA splicing is one of the key features that distinguishes higher eukaryotes from prokaryotes. It allows for the production of many more gene products from a smaller amount of DNA, and allows the expression of these different gene products to change rapidly.
ReplyDeleteI like that Dr Min and all of the other professors have given us insight into their background and how they got where they are today. I have taken advancdd bioinformatics with Dr Min and have learned a lot about the software and programs available for research...some of which I have used for my own. alternative splicing allows for the removal of introns and also helps provide stability and better function for plants.
ReplyDelete