Session-1

This session will introduce key DNA sequencing technologies, starting with Sanger Sequencing and progressing to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). It will cover NGS data analysis, including interpretation of FASTQ files, sequence alignment/mapping to a reference genome, and exploration of alignment files such as SAM/BAM. The process of variant calling will be discussed in detail — including single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions and deletions (indels), and structural variations. Interpretation of VCF files, visualising and tabulating generated results, and concluding with an understanding of the biological significance of detected variants will also be covered.

The hands-on analysis will be conducted on CDAC ICE-FLAKES hosted at IBDC in a preset environment with all required tools and test datasets.

Session-2

Understanding the relationship between protein sequence/structure and function is fundamental to biology yet remains difficult to predict. The importance of a mutated residue for protein structure and activity can be assessed by examining molecular interactions exchanged with neighbouring residues within the same protein or between different biomacromolecules. This exchange in interactions becomes more visible when multiple protein conformations and surrounding small molecules (such as water) are considered in studying mutational impact.

In this session we will use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to fetch structural coordinates and mutation information from the ISDA website, apply Python-based workflows to evaluate mutational impact, and use Mol* to visualise the structures and results.