This website was constructed as a class project for Genetics 564, an undergraduate Genetics course at UW-Madison.
What is Gene Ontology?
Gene ontology (GO) is an attempt to standardize and classify gene and gene product nomenclature across species and databases [1]. It categorizes genes and gene products (Human Aldolase B in this case) by their biological process, molecular function, and cellular component(s). The biological process of a gene or protein describes its end goal; that is, what overall process it is required to accomplish (e.g. homeostasis, cell respiration). Molecular function of a protein is specifically what it does to accomplish its biological process (e.g. bind to certain molecules, interact with other proteins). Proteins are also described by which part of the cell, which cell component, they can be found in. These categorizations help to describe proteins in a standardized way and contribute to a better understanding of entire protein networks.
Aldolase B Gene Ontology
In the image at the left (generated using QuickGo, an online tool for identifying GO's) we can see how the function of Aldolase B can be categorized within the parameters of a biological process and molecular function. By analyzing and combining research done on the gene of interest, flowcharts like the one at the left can be made to illustrate its GO categorization. The function of the Aldolase B gene product is to cleave fructose-1,6-bisphosphate [2]. This molecule is an aldehyde, so the Aldolase B protein's action on it can be more generally categorized as an aldehyde-lyase activity. Further, this aldehyde (fructose-1,6-bisphosphate) is broken at a carbon-carbon bond. We can group aldehyde-lyase activity into carbon-carbon lyase activities. Lyase activities are more generally a type of catalytic activity, which can be a molecular function, and a part of a metabolic process. Metabolic processes are types of biological processes, one of the three major GO term categories. This path of categorization can be followed for all of a gene product's functions, and this can contribute to a better understanding of the gene and protein, as well as the overall protein network they are involved in.
Biological Process
|
Molecular Function
|
Cellular Component
|