Linking bioinformatics and cheminformatics: From genes to structure-activity relationships
The terms bioinformatics and cheminformatics refer to the use of computational methods in the study of biology and chemistry. Information derived from DNA or protein sequences, protein structure, and chemical structure is used to build models of biochemical systems or models of the interaction of a biochemical system with a small molecule. There are mathematical and statistical methods for analysis, public databases, and literature associated with each of these disciplines. However, there is substantial value in considering the interaction between these areas and in building computational models that integrate data from both sources. In the most general sense, integrating bioinformatics and cheminformatics leads to models that relate features of biological systems (sequences, protein structures, motifs) to features of the chemical structures, including small organic molecules, that interact with them.