Expected Preparations:

  Metabolism:
Enzymatic catalysis and control; Reaction sequences and pathways; Catabolic- and anabolic pathways; Chemiosmotic coupling.
   [BIN]
Abstractions 		 
  If you are not already familiar with the prior knowledge listed above, you need to prepare yourself from other information sources.   The units listed above are part of this course and contain important preparatory material.  
Keywords: The concept of function; representation of function; function annotation; function prediction.
Objectives:

This unit will …

  • Introduce the meaning of “function” and issues that arise from it being a concept, not an observable;

  • Introduce principles of representation, annotation and prediction of biomolecular function.

 Outcomes:

After working through this unit you …

  • understand how observed activities are conceptualized as “functions” on various levels;

  • know about three common resources for function representation: E.C. codes, pathway collections, and above all, the Gene Ontology project;

  • can name the three fundamental strategies for function prediction and give one example for each.

Deliverables:

Time management: Before you begin, estimate how long it will take you to complete this unit. Then, record in your course journal: the number of hours you estimated, the number of hours you worked on the unit, and the amount of time that passed between start and completion of this unit.

Journal: Document your progress in your Course Journal. Some tasks may ask you to include specific items in your journal. Don’t overlook these.

Insights: If you find something particularly noteworthy about this unit, make a note in your insights! page.

Evaluation:

NA: This unit is not evaluated for course marks.

Contents

Function is a concept, not an observation and it is not trivial how we categorize and arrange observed activities to “functions”. Once defined, functions need to be represented in the computer, associated with biomolecules through annotation, and used in prediction to complement experimentation.

Task…

Questions, comments

If in doubt, ask! If anything about this contents is not clear to you, do not proceed but ask for clarification. If you have ideas about how to make this material better, let’s hear them. We are aiming to compile a list of FAQs for all learning units, and your contributions will count towards your participation marks.

Improve this page! If you have questions or comments, please post them on the Quercus Discussion board with a subject line that includes the name of the unit.

References

Page ID: BIN-FUNC-Concepts

Author:
Boris Steipe ( <boris.steipe@utoronto.ca> )
Created:
2017-08-05
Last modified:
2022-09-14
Version:
1.1
Version History:
–  1.1 2020 Maintenance
–  1.0 First final version
–  0.1 First stub
Tagged with:
–  Unit
–  Live
–  Has lecture slides

 

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