ABSTRACT
An important goal in any mapping or sequencing project is the identification of genes, since these represent the functional elements of the genome. A large number of eukaryotic genomes are being sequenced, many of these representing unicellular species. Six higher eukaryotic genomes have been sequenced thus far, at least up to the draft stage. The chapter considers methods for constructing maps and identifying the positions of individual genes. There are two types of map—genetic and physical. Once genetic and physical maps are available, they can be used to find individual genes or as a framework for whole genome sequencing. The division of genes into exons and large introns means that gene finding can be broken into a two-tier process of detecting exons and building these into a whole gene model. Computational methods are suitable for the detection of genes that are translated into protein.
