Delhi based Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and Jalaja Technologies have jointly developed Geno-Cluster, a bioinformatics software meant for high-end software applications based on concepts, which are fundamental to comparative genomics. The project was supported through the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The Geno-Cluster tools primarily aim to predict genes, protein functionality and virulence factors and work in tandem to provide a platform conducive to cutting edge research in the in-silico design of novel drug molecules and vaccines. The highly sophisticated Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are employed to identify genes/non genes/virulent factors. The high accuracy of the results emphasizes the success of the machine learning and statistical biology concepts. The software package includes a number of stand-alone software tools namely, Gene 'D'cfer, Proteome calkulator and Seapath as well as PL-HoSTFA developed by IGIB independently.
Announcing the launch of the new software, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, said that NMITLI is the largest public-private-partnership R&D initiative of the Govt. of India. "In a short span of time, the programme has several significant achievements to its credit. These include the TB molecule, herbal formulations for Psoriasis, low cost computer, weather forecast system, Bio-informatics products etc, with GENO-CLUSTER being one of them," he noted.
The Minister said that the NMITLI programme is poised to charter new territories. It would not only build on innovation driven technology niches for economic and industrial development of the country but also to explore and develop newer models for innovation development.