Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology Theme - Leader David Longbottom
The Functional Genomics unit has now been established in the Institute with 2-D gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing capabilities. Of course, this is a development which cuts across all the Theme and Divisional boundaries but has had a particular impact on the Molecular Biology Theme. It is gratifying to report that virtually every research group in the Institute is either using the facilities in the functional genomics unit or have specific plans to do so in the future.
The combination of protein analysis (proteomics), through peptide sequencing and/or biochemical/immunological characterisation, interfaced with gene sequence analysis (genomics) is anticipated to be a very powerful tool (functional genomics) in the understanding of host/pathogen interactions. Of course, database searching will only be of value if DNA sequences are present in the databases. Collaborations have been established to conduct genome sequence analyses of Chlamydophila abortus, Mannheimia haemolytica, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and orf virus as well as Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) analyses of the nematode parasites Haemonchus contortus and Teladorsagia circumcincta and the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis. The next question to be addressed is how do we exploit this information to aid the development of effective disease control procedures?
Gene expression can now be quantified using DNA microarray technology or Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE). These techniques identify genes being expressed by an organism or tissue, their relative abundance and identify upregulated or down regulated genes.
The fundamental advantage of these gene expression technologies is that they allow gene expression in the entire genome to be characterised in response to particular stimuli such as infection in a tissue. In parallel, the pattern of gene expression in the infecting organism can be defined during the disease process. This will lead to a very detailed insight into the host/pathogen interaction and result in the identification of many novel genes and pathways associated with infection and therefore possible targets for disease control mechanisms. The future is exciting!