Abstract

Phylogenomics, which advocates an evolutionary view of genomic data, has been useful in the prediction of protein function, of significant sequence and structural elements, and of protein interactions and other relationships. Although such information is important in characterizing individual pharmacological targets, evolutionary analyses also indicate new ways to view the overall space of gene products in terms of their suitability for therapeutic intervention. This view places increased emphasis on the comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary history of targets, in particular their orthology and paralogy relationships, the rate and nature of evolutionary change they have undergone, and their involvement in evolving pathways and networks.

Author affiliations

1. Bioinformatics Division, Genetics Research, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, 709 Swedeland Road, P.O. Box 1539, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406, USA.
   Email: David_B_Searls@gsk.com