Using virtual reality software to compile genetic data
Using virtual reality scientists from the University of Oxford want to investigate the complex interactions between genes and their regulatory elements in an interactive format.
The VR simulation was generated with combined data from genome sequencing, data on the interactions of DNA, and microscopy data. When combined, this provides an interactive, three dimensional image that shows where different regions of the genome sit relative to others, and how they interact with each other.
The VR image helps the human brain understand the complex processes. ”The human brain is very good at pattern recognition – we tend to think visually”, said Stephen Taylor, Head of the Computational Biology Research Group at the MRC WIMM.
Understanding the interactions between genes and their regulatory elements
There are around 37 trillion cells in the average adult human body, and each cell contains two meters of DNA tightly packed into its nucleus. While the technology to sequence genomes is well established, it has been shown that the manner in which DNA is folded within each cell affects how genes are expressed. Understanding the interactions between genes and their regulatory elements is becoming increasingly important in understanding the basis of human genetic diseases.
“There are more than three billion base pairs in the human genome, and a change in just one of these can cause a problem”, explains Prof Jim Hughes, Associate Professor of Genome Biology at Oxford University.
‘By combining data on the genome sequence with data on gene interactions we can create a 3D model that shows where regulatory elements and the genes they control sit relative to each other, and it makes it easier to understand the processes going on within a living cell.’
A tool like Virtual Reality, Hughes said, “will enable researchers to efficiently combine their data to gain a much broader understanding of how the organization of the genome affects gene expression, and how mutations and variants affect such interactions”.
Source: Oxford University