title: Bioinformatics in otolaryngology research. Part one: concepts in DNA sequencing and gene expression analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Advances in high-throughput molecular biology, genomics and epigenetics, coupled with exponential increases in computing power and data storage, have led to a new era in biological research and information. Bioinformatics, the discipline devoted to storing, analysing and interpreting large volumes of biological data, has become a crucial component of modern biomedical research. Research in otolaryngology has evolved along with these advances.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This review highlights several modern high-throughput research methods, and focuses on the bioinformatics principles necessary to carry out such studies. Several examples from recent literature pertinent to otolaryngology are provided. The review is divided into two parts; this first part discusses the bioinformatics approaches applied in nucleotide sequencing and gene expression analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper demonstrates how high-throughput nucleotide sequencing and transcriptomics are changing biology and medicine, and describes how these changes are affecting otorhinolaryngology. Sound bioinformatics approaches are required to obtain useful information from the vast new sources of data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ow
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Upadhyay
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Belbin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Prystowsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ostrer
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery,Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx,New York,USA.
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010036:Otolaryngology; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*