Numerous genome sequencing projects have yielded more and more data to help analyze and gain a better understanding of genetic diversity in the living world. Genome annotation enables us to decipher raw data and identify proteincoding genes and their function. After structural annotation, the next step is predicting protein function (functional annotation). All the genes currently available in the sequenced genomes will never be studied experimentally, and so the most reliable and accurate theoretical approaches need to be considered for function prediction. Different approaches have already been developed for functional annotation. Here we emphasize the use of evolutionary biology concepts as an improved and sensitive method for predicting protein function. In the future, functional annotation based on evolutionary biology could be included in a more general approach to study the impact of the environment on the genome at the community scale.
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Levasseur, A., Pontarotti, P. (2008). An Overview of Evolutionary Biology Concepts for Functional Annotation: Advances and Challenges. In: Pontarotti, P. (eds) Evolutionary Biology from Concept to Application. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78993-2_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78993-2_13
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