This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 677, and undergraduate course at UW-Madison.
Ontology
Gene Ontology or GO for short is a method for classifying the functions of gene products using cellular component, biological process, and molecular function to differentiate between the products. For a more thorough yet quick introduction to Gene Ontology click here.
Using AmiGO, an onine program that searches for ontological terms, one entry was found with 20 associated proteins for the KCNQ1 gene in humans.
Cellular Component- basolateral plasma membrane, plasma membrane, sarcolemma, voltage-gated potassium channel complex, zymogen granule membrane
Biological Process- blood circulation, gene silencing, muscle contraction, negative regulation of insulin secretion, potassium ion export, regulation of gene expression by genetic imprinting, regulation of membrane repolarization, response to chemical stimulus, sensory perception of sound, synaptic transmission
Molecular Function- calmodulin binding, delayed rectifier potassium channel activity, voltage-gated potassium channel activity
Using AmiGO, an onine program that searches for ontological terms, one entry was found with 20 associated proteins for the KCNQ1 gene in humans.
Cellular Component- basolateral plasma membrane, plasma membrane, sarcolemma, voltage-gated potassium channel complex, zymogen granule membrane
Biological Process- blood circulation, gene silencing, muscle contraction, negative regulation of insulin secretion, potassium ion export, regulation of gene expression by genetic imprinting, regulation of membrane repolarization, response to chemical stimulus, sensory perception of sound, synaptic transmission
Molecular Function- calmodulin binding, delayed rectifier potassium channel activity, voltage-gated potassium channel activity
Trees of Gene Ontology Interactions in Humans
The image to the left shows the interactions of the proteins that fall under cellular component category.
The image to the left shows the interactions of the proteins that fall under biological process category.
The image to the left shows the interactions of the proteins that fall under the molecular function category.
Analysis
The above flow charts show just a small portion of all the functions that KCNQ1 plays a role in or is effected by during the normal life of a cell. As you can see the amount is vast and contains everything from gene silencing to heart contraction to perception of sound. It just shows that sometimes something that seems like just an insignificant piece can play a key role in how the cell functions to perform all tasks that need to be done.
References
[1] The Gene Ontology Consortium. Gene ontology: tool for the unification of biology. Nat. Genet.. May 2000;25(1):25-9. The Gene Ontology
[2] Carbon S, Ireland A, Mungall CJ, Shu S, Marshall B, Lewis S, AmiGO Hub, Web Presence Working Group. AmiGO: online access to ontology and annotation data. Bioinformatics. Jan 2009;25(2):288-9. AmiGO
[2] Carbon S, Ireland A, Mungall CJ, Shu S, Marshall B, Lewis S, AmiGO Hub, Web Presence Working Group. AmiGO: online access to ontology and annotation data. Bioinformatics. Jan 2009;25(2):288-9. AmiGO