Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

im doing a project i need help using the blast system for it and i need the whole nucletide sequence and chicken nucletide sequence

Hi mariahUSA,

The BLAST system is a wonderful tool for molecular biology. I am unclear on which nucleotide sequences you need. Are you looking for the sequence of a specific gene? If so what is the name of that gene. Are you looking for the sequence of the entire genome? These files can be quite large and may be difficult for your computer to process.

NCBI is the organization that oversees BLAST. They have another great tool called GenBank. This tool allows you to use key words to search for available nucleotide sequences. You may be able to find the sequences you need there. Here is the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/

You can enter key words in the search bar on the top of the page.

Kierstyn

Hi mariahUSA,

Kierstyn has already given you some great advice! As she mentioned, it would help us to know more details about your project.

Based on the brief description in your profile, I think that you are trying to look at nucleotide sequences for Tyrannosaurus rex. Were you inspired by the news that scientists may have sequenced some soft tissue from T. rex? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... ssues.html

This news is still contentious, and only sequences that have been thoroughly checked for authenticity will show up in BLAST or GenBank. In addition, only certain protein sequences are available for certain organisms. Thus, you may or may not find what you are seeking in BLAST or GenBank. Since the article says that the proteins sequenced were very similar to those in chickens, you could start with the chicken sequences and go from there. Remember to use the scientific name for chickens (Gallus gallus) when searching, as the sequences will not be listed under common names.

Please post again (in this same thread) with more details and any more questions you have.

Heather