BionformHer-Module-2-Mini-Project

Evolutionary Conservation of the Hemoglobin Beta (HBB) Gene

Project Overview

This repository contains my submission for the BioinformHer Module 2 Mini Project, which explores the evolutionary conservation of the Hemoglobin Beta (HBB) gene across multiple species using basic bioinformatics tools. The project applies sequence retrieval, alignment, visualization, and phylogenetic analysis techniques learned in Module 2.

Objectives

The main goals of this project were to:

1. Retrieve homologous HBB gene sequences from different species

2. Perform pairwise and multiple sequence alignments

3. Visualize conserved regions using sequence logos

4. Construct a phylogenetic tree to infer evolutionary relationships

5. Document and present findings clearly and reproducibly

Tools and Resources Used

The following freely available bioinformatics tools were used:

1. NCBI BLAST

2. Clustal Omega / MUSCLE

3. Skylign for sequence logo generation

4. MEGA X for phylogenetic tree construction

5. GitHub – project documentation