2gnx Introduction

Computational biology is an emerging field in the study of genomics. It allows researchers to gain a deep understanding of biological products without the need for extensive laboratory work. It is a power tool as it saves researchers both time and money and allows a more integrative approach to the study of genomics.

Proteins are the final derived state from the central dogma and they are the functional expression of an organisms DNA code. Proteins themselves perform many diverse and often complex functions within the organism that produces them, and knowing what these individual proteins do contributes our understanding of disease states and what can be done to prevent and control them. The knowledge of protein structure function and the evolutionary lineage are all important components when determining what role a protein ultimately plays in an organism and what can potentially go wrong.

The advancements provided by bioinformatics has contributed greatly to researches ability to isolate and determine important proteins that have both negative and positive effects on biological systems. These tools have also made it easer to process hypothetical or unknown proteins that would otherwise not be looked at because of their lack of immediate significance. This overcomes the scenario where expensive lab work is conduced in researching a protein only to find that it is unimportant in furthering research.

The protein studied in this report is the hypothetical protein 2GNX (Protein Data Bank code). The source of this protein is Mus musculus (mouse) and its structure has been derived by X-ray diffraction. This paper outlines a detailed study of the evolution, structure and the function of this protein. Interesting observations were made with regards to all of these aspects of this protein and these observations will be specified and discussed in detail.

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