Bioinformatics and its application in animal health: a review

Abstract

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary subject, which uses computer application, statistics, mathematics and engineering for the analysis and management of biological information. It has become an important tool for basic and applied research in veterinary sciences. Bioinformatics has brought about advancements into veterinary research by providing new techniques for identification of vaccine targets from the sequencing of biological data of organisms. In Nigeria and some other developing countries in Africa, bioinformatics has received little attention as a recognizable discipline and there is gross deficiency in bioinformatics training particularly in the higher institutions. The aim of this review is to discuss the importance of bioinformatics and emphasize the need to acquire bioinformatics training and skills so as to maximize its potentials for improved delivery of animal health. In this review, bioinformatics is introduced, challenges to effective animal disease diagnosis, prevention and control, objectives and general usage of bioinformatics and previous and future applications of bioinfomatics are discussed.

Keywords: Bioinformatics, Computational biology,  Animal health, Bioinformatics tools