COMPARATIVE GENOMICS - A PERSPECTIVE

The rapidly emerging field of comparative genomics has yielded dramatic results. Comparative genome analysis has become feasible with the availability of a number of completely sequenced genomes. Comparison of complete genomes between organisms allow for global views on genome evolution and the availability of many completely sequenced genomes increases the predictive power in deciphering the hidden information in genome design, function and evolution. Thus, comparison of human genes with genes from other genomes in a genomic landscape could help assign novel functions for un-annotated genes. The MicroRNAs are sequence-specific regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression in many eukaryotes. They are believed to control the expression of thousands of target mRNAs, with each mRNA believed to be targeted by multiple MicroRNAs. In this study it has been demonstrated about the construction of a cut off for sequence similarity and query coverage on the basis of known datasets of Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee) miRNA by performing genomic nucleotide BLAST with Homo sapiens (human) genome. The two combined approaches help in the prediction of 909 miRNA candidates in chimpanzee similar to that of humans.