Homologene

HomoloGene is a system developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to facilitate the comparison of genes across various species. It provides a means of identifying orthologs and paralogs, which are genes in different species that evolved from a common ancestor and genes in the same organism that are similar to each other, respectively.

Overview

The HomoloGene system automatically detects genes that are likely to be orthologs based on the sequence similarity of the proteins they encode. It uses a computational pipeline to identify and group these genes across a wide range of species. The system currently includes data from several dozen fully sequenced genomes, including those of humans, mice, rats, and many other organisms.

Functionality

HomoloGene provides several key features to researchers. It allows for the comparison of gene sequences across species, which can provide insights into the function and evolution of genes. It also provides information on the location of these genes in the genome, their associated phenotypes, and their known or predicted functions.

Applications

HomoloGene is widely used in genomics and bioinformatics research. It is particularly useful in the study of comparative genomics, where it can help to identify genes that have been conserved across species. This can provide insights into the essential functions of these genes, as well as their role in disease.

Limitations

While HomoloGene is a powerful tool, it does have some limitations. For example, it relies on the accuracy of the underlying genome sequences, which can contain errors. It also assumes that genes with similar sequences have similar functions, which is not always the case.

See also

• Ortholog
• Paralog
• National Center for Biotechnology Information
• Comparative genomics