INSTITUTE
OF GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

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Bioinformatics, which is an important area of ​​activity of the Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus, is a field of science that allows researchers to use powerful computational and statistical methods to decipher the functional information hidden in biological sequences. High-throughput sequencing technologies are rapidly increasing the volumes of data arrays obtained, which requires the use of computing tools for data storage, management and analysis. Modern bioinformatics techniques allow researchers to analyze DNA and RNA sequences, to find and study the effect of genomic variants on the clinical manifestations of various diseases and to analyze the taxonomic composition of microbial communities, which makes it possible not only to establish the root cause of the patient’s pathological condition, but also, in certain instances, to determine the strategy for the treatment and management of a patient.

One of the main areas of activity of the Bioinformatics Sector is the in silico processing of data obtained at the Institute’s laboratories. Processing includes the use of mathematical algorithms and software for analyzing patients’ genetic data, searching for disease markers, predicting the risks of pathological conditions’ development and making forecasts based on available genomic data. The sector’s activities allow the development of individualized and predictive approaches in medicine to prevent the onset of serious diseases and reduce the risks of their manifestation, which undoubtedly improves the quality of patients’ life and affects its duration.

The arsenal of the Bioinformatics Sector includes a wide range of software for the processing of high-throughput sequencing data, including proprietary original software solutions developed for research purposes. Software pipelines and scripts produced in the Sector are regularly published at https://github.com/IGC-bioinf.

 

The non-trivial research of the Sector makes it possible to expand the understanding of the genetic basis of a wide range of multifactorial diseases, including epilepsy, spontaneous abortion, nephropathy, and non-coronary heart disease.

Directions of activity:

  1. Routine processing of WGS, WES, clinical exome sequences and targeted sequencing data;
  2. Analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci;
  3. Analysis of a copy number variation (CNV);
  4. Search for potential markers of a predisposition to disease development; genome-wide association study for the purpose of identi­fication of an association with a disease of single nucleotide substitutions in polymorphic loci and the identi­fication of genetic risk factors;
  5. Genotype phasing using triads;
  6. Analysis of whole-genome sequences (mitochondrial animal and plant genomes, chloroplast genomes etc.);
  7. Metagenomic analysis of microbial communities.

Main publications of the bioinformatics sector:

  1. Levdansky, O. D. Possibilities of using CNV analysis to search for the potential markers of a predisposition to hereditary diseases / Levdansky, O. D., Shulinsky, R. S., Mishuk, E. A. // Molecular & Applied Genetics: Proceedings / Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus; Editorship: V. Kilchevsky (editor-in-chief) [et al.]. – Minsk: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus. – 2023. – Vol. 34. – P. 39-51.
  2. Levdansky, O. D. Comparison of genotype phasing methods for high-throughput clinical exome sequencing data / O. D. Levdansky, R. S. Shulinsky, E. A. Mishuk, L. N. Sivitskaya // Molecular & Applied Genetics: Proceedings / Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus; Editorship: V. Kilchevsky (editor-in-chief) [et al.]. – Minsk: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus. – 2021. – Vol. 31. – P. 114-123.

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