The Genetic Information Research Institute (GIRI) is a non-profit institution that was founded in 1994 by
Jerzy Jurka
Jerzy Władysław Jurka (June 4, 1950 – July 19, 2014) was a Polish-American computational and molecular biologist. He served as the assistant director of research at the Linus Pauling Institute prior to founding the Genetic Information Resear ...
. The mission of the institute "is to understand biological processes which alter the genetic makeup of different organisms, as a basis for potential gene therapy and genome engineering techniques." The institute specializes in applying computer tools to analysis of
DNA and
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
sequence information. GIRI develops and maintains Repbase Update, a
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
of prototypic
sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
representing
repetitive DNA
Repeated sequences (also known as repetitive elements, repeating units or repeats) are short or long patterns of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) that occur in multiple copies throughout the genome. In many organisms, a significant fraction of the genom ...
from different
eukaryotic
Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacte ...
species, and Repbase Reports, an electronic journal established in 2001. Repetitive DNA is primarily derived from
transposable elements
A transposable element (TE, transposon, or jumping gene) is a nucleic acid sequence in DNA that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transpo ...
(TEs), which include
DNA transposon DNA transposons are DNA sequences, sometimes referred to "jumping genes", that can move and integrate to different locations within the genome. They are class II transposable elements (TEs) that move through a DNA intermediate, as opposed to class ...
s belonging to around 20 superfamilies and
retrotransposons
Retrotransposons (also called Class I transposable elements or transposons via RNA intermediates) are a type of genetic component that copy and paste themselves into different genomic locations (transposon) by converting RNA back into DNA through ...
that can also be sub-classified into subfamilies . The majority of known superfamilies of DNA transposons were discovered or co-discovered at GIRI, including
Helitron, ''Academ, Dada, Ginger, Kolobok, Novosib, Sola, Transib, Zator, PIF/Harbinger'' and ''Polinton/Maverick''. An ancient element from the ''Transib'' superfamily was identified as the evolutionary precursor of the
Recombination activating gene
The recombination-activating genes (RAGs) encode parts of a protein complex that plays important roles in the rearrangement and recombination of the genes encoding immunoglobulin and T cell receptor molecules. There are two recombination-activa ...
. GIRI has hosted three international conferences devoted to the genomic impact of eukaryotic transposable elements.
References
External links
Official Website of the InstitutePublicationsScreening DNA or protein sequences against RepbaseAutomated classification of non-LTR retrotransposonsWay-Back Machine Archive of www.girinst.org
Genetics or genomics research institutions
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