Bacterial Genomes: Comparative Genomics using Artemis Comparison Tool (ACT) (FutureLearn)

Bacterial Genomes: Comparative Genomics using Artemis Comparison Tool (ACT) (FutureLearn)

Learn to use comparative genomics to improve your knowledge of microbial genomes. Gain experience in using the Artemis Comparison Tool for comparative genomics. Disease outbreaks are still a big problem in our modern world. Comparison between two or more bacterial genomes can help improve understanding of the causes of pathogenicity and outbreaks of disease caused by bacteria.

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On this course you will learn how to use the free Artemis Comparison Tool (ACT). Developed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, ACT will help you to visualise the comparison of genomes and analyse the results.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1

  • Introduction to comparative genomics
  • Introduction to ACT

Week 2

  • Analyse available data
  • Generate your own comparison files
  • Make your own comparisons in ACT

Week 3

  • Identify pseudogenes in Mycobacterium leprae using ACT
  • Peer review project: Comparative genomics on two clinically relevant plasmids from Shigella

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explain the advantages of comparative genomics
  • Explore basic tools of ACT
  • Interpret results from already generated comparison files
  • Produce new comparisons and analyse results
  • Develop hypothesis based on results observation
Go to Class
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