Bacterial Genomes: From DNA to Protein Function Using Bioinformatics (FutureLearn)

Bacterial Genomes: From DNA to Protein Function Using Bioinformatics (FutureLearn)

Use bioinformatics to explore DNA sequences and protein functions, to find the determinants of virulence in microbes. Join us in our quest to discover what makes microbes dangerous. Use bioinformatics to probe genomes, to explore and represent DNA and protein sequences. Then, use databases to find protein sequences’ conserved domains and investigate their functions.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

What topics will you cover?
• Bioinformatics tools, DNA and protein sequences
• Retrieving DNA and protein sequences from repositories
• Databases for protein annotation
• Inferring function from sequence

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • assess DNA representations and protein sequences
  • perform searches in primary databases (repositories) and retrieve gene/protein data
  • interpret different repository submission formats
  • investigate biological databases for research
  • identify the putative function of proteins based on their conserved domains

Who is the course for?
The course will be of interest to undergraduates, post-graduates, researchers, bioinformaticians, biomedical researchers, microbiologists, healthcare professionals and all those who are interested in learning about the underlying mechanisms of bacterial disease, DNA sequences and protein data, or how to use online analytical tools to probe genomes.
The topics covered in this course are applicable to the genomes of all organisms. It is not essential to have previous knowledge or experience in bioinformatics. Scientific terminology is explained. The opportunity to use online computational tools in the context of bacterial genomes will also be of interest to teachers and their 16-18-year-old science and computing students.

What software or tools do you need?
No specific software, hardware, or other resources are required.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Fundamental Skills in Bioinformatics (Coursera) Coursera
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Fundamental Skills in Bioinformatics (Coursera)

The course provides a broad and mainly practical overview of fundamental skills for bioinformatics (and, in general, data analysis). The aim is to support the simultaneous development of quantitative and programming skills for biological and biomedical students with little or no background in programming or quantitative analysis.

Nov 16th 2026
4 Weeks
e-Bug Health Educator Training (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy - BSAC,Public Health England

e-Bug Health Educator Training (FutureLearn)

Improve your ability to teach children and young people how to prevent the spread of infection and to use antibiotics responsibly. Learn how to use the e-Bug teaching resource. e-Bug is operated by Public Health England (PHE) as a free educational resource for teaching young people aged 4-18 about the spread, prevention, and treatment of infections and antibiotic use.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Big Data Science with the BD2K-LINCS Data Coordination and Integration Center (Coursera) Coursera
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Big Data Science with the BD2K-LINCS Data Coordination and Integration Center (Coursera)

In this course we briefly introduce the DCIC and the various Centers that collect data for LINCS. We then cover metadata and how metadata is linked to ontologies. We then present data processing and normalization methods to clean and harmonize LINCS data. This follow discussions about how data is served as RESTful APIs. Most importantly, the course covers computational methods including: data clustering, gene-set enrichment analysis, interactive data visualization, and supervised learning. Finally, we introduce crowdsourcing/citizen-science projects where students can work together in teams to extract expression signatures from public databases and then query such collections of signatures against LINCS data for predicting small molecules as potential therapeutics.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Preventing and Managing Infections in Childcare and Pre-school (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy - BSAC,Public Health England

Preventing and Managing Infections in Childcare and Pre-school (FutureLearn)

Understand how infectious diseases spread and how to protect children from infections. Identify how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in children. Microbes live everywhere, especially in childcare settings where children play together at close quarters. They come in all shapes and sizes – and not all are harmful. On this course, you’ll discover what germs are and how they spread, looking at simple ways of stopping infections spreading. You’ll learn practical tips on keeping early years settings safe.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Artificial Intelligence in Bioinformatics (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Taipei Medical University

Artificial Intelligence in Bioinformatics (FutureLearn)

Discover the future of bioinformatics and learn how AI models of bioinformatics data help us to understand biological processes. Study the use of AI, machine learning, and deep learning in bioinformatics. This course will teach you the fundamentals of how AI is applied in the field of bioinformatics.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Small and Mighty: Introduction to Microbiology (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Reading

Small and Mighty: Introduction to Microbiology (FutureLearn)

Understand the basics of microbiology and explore the diversity of microbial life in our world. Discover the fascinating world of microbes. Microbes may be invisible to the eye, but they dominate every environment on Earth – including you. Microbes are often associated with disease yet the majority of species help to keep us alive. How can you distinguish the good from the bad?

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Bioinformatics for Biologists: Analysing and Interpreting Genomics Datasets (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Wellcome Connecting Science

Bioinformatics for Biologists: Analysing and Interpreting Genomics Datasets (FutureLearn)

Boost your career by gaining the skills to install and modify the elements of a bioinformatics workflow to suit your needs. Gain practical data science skills. Bioinformatics is crucial in helping to understand large and complex sets of biological data. On this three-week course, you’ll develop your knowledge of bioinformatics and gain practical experience in scaling up analysis and working with large and complex datasets effectively.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Durham University

Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology (FutureLearn)

Enter the fascinating world of forensics, and learn how the deceased are located, recovered and analysed using DNA and pathology. Learn the science behind the exhumation and identification of skeletal remains. The location, exhumation and identification of the dead requires highly specialised expertise. On this course, you’ll learn the latest scientific techniques for body location, recovery and analysis.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Hacking COVID-19 — Course 2: Decoding SARS-CoV-2's Secrets (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Hacking COVID-19 — Course 2: Decoding SARS-CoV-2's Secrets (Coursera)

In this course, you will follow in the footsteps of the bioinformaticians investigating the COVID-19 outbreak by annotating the SARS-CoV-2 genome and using the annotation to design a COVID-19 diagnostic test. Whether you’re new to the world of computational biology, or you’re a bioinformatics expert seeking to learn about its applications in the COVID-19 pandemic, or somewhere in between, this course is for you!

Nov 16th 2026
2 Weeks