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The article elaborates on the program highlights of the 3rd African Student Council Symposium 2019. The one-day symposium was held in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, on 11 November 2019 during the 6th joint international bioinformatics conference of the ISCB and ASBCB. It consisted of three sessions that included keynote talks by Prof Christine Orengo and Dr. Amel Ghouila, and seven selected student speaker talks from different areas of bioinformatics. The students benefited from networking and learning about ongoing research work by their peers hailing from different countries of the African region. The symposium proved to be pivotal to strengthen connections in the African bioinformatics student community.

The Student Council of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB-SC) is a student-focused organization for researchers from all early career levels of training (undergraduates, masters, PhDs and postdocs) that organizes bioinformatics and computational biology activities across the globe. Among its activities, the ISCB-SC organizes several symposia in different continents, many times, with the help of the Regional Student Groups (RSGs) that are based on each region. In this editorial we highlight various key moments and learned lessons from the 14th Student Council Symposium (SCS, Chicago, USA), the 5th European Student Council Symposium (ESCS, Athens, Greece) and the 3rd Latin American Student Council Symposium (LA-SCS, Viña del Mar, Chile).

Regional Student Groups (RSGs) of the International Society for Computational Biology Student Council (ISCB-SC) have been instrumental to connect computational biologists globally and to create more awareness about bioinformatics education. This article highlights the initiatives carried out by the RSGs both nationally and internationally to strengthen the present and future of the bioinformatics community. Moreover, we discuss the future directions the organization will take and the challenges to advance further in the ISCB-SC main mission: "Nurture the new generation of computational biologists". ispartof: F1000Res vol:8 pages:ISCB Comm J-1574- ispartof: location:England status: Published online

In rice, ferric-chelate reductase-1 (FRO1) (LOC_Os04g36720) gene was present on chromosome number 4 and its beginning and ending coordinates where coding sequence lies are 22182599 and 22186943, respectively. It plays a vital role in metal homeostasis and iron transportation in plants. Based on the alignment results, location of single-nucleotide variants is located in open reading frame and their effects of variants were predicted using SIFT sequence tool. The non-synonymous variants at position 342 and 436 lies in helical and coil parts of the protein, respectively, as predicted by Psi-pred server. PSI-Blast which resulted in significant hits and the most similar protein sequence (Accession ID: NP_001052896) with available sequence features displayed 100 % identity with query cover of 99 %. Results suggest the non-synonymous variant at position 436 (Accession ID: TBGI204002) lies in FAD-binding domain and nsSNV at position 342 (Accession ID: TBGI203998) lies in periphery of NADP. The SNPs were also analyzed for the deleterious effect by PANTHER subPSEC scores and I-mutant score, and it was postulated that SNPs would be hampering on biological as well as molecular function of FRO 1 gene of rice. A cutoff of -3 corresponds to a 50 % probability that a score is deleterious. From this, the probability that a given variant will cause a deleterious effect on protein function is estimated by P deleterious, such that a subPSEC score of -4 corresponds to a P deleterious of 0.79. Hence, to study the phenotypic consequences of variant TBGI204002, we performed comparative molecular docking studies of native modeled protein and protein with induced mutation as receptors and FAD as ligand to be utilized for binding. The docking process was performed by AutoDock 4.2 software with Lamarckian Genetic algorithm as computational algorithm. Results suggest binding energies are higher in case of mutation-induced protein which suggests presence of variant TBGI204002 enhances binding of FAD ligand at FAD-binding domain site. In case of TBGI203998, similar comparative docking procedure was performed with FAD as binding ligand, which suggests presence of variant does not impact FAD binding at the domain site. We revealed impact of SNPs on the protein structure and its function using sequence-based tools.

International audience; This article describes the motivation, origin and evolution of the student symposia series organised by the ISCB Student Council. The meeting series started thirteen years ago in Madrid and has spread to four continents. The article concludes with the highlights of the most recent edition of annual Student Council Symposium held in conjunction with the 25th Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology and the 16th European Conference on Computational Biology, in Prague, in July 2017.

Regional Student Groups are groups established and managed by the ISCB-Student Council in different regions of the world. The article highlights some of the initiatives and management lessons from our 'top-performing' Spotlight Regional Student Groups (RSGs), RSG-Argentina and RSG-UK, for the current year (2016). In addition, it details some of the operational hurdles faced by RSGs and possible solutions. Fil: Shome, Sayane. Iowa State University; Estados Unidos Fil: Meysman, Pieter. Universiteit Antwerp; Bélgica Fil: Parra, Rodrigo Gonzalo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; Alemania Fil: Monzón, Alexander. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina Fil: Palopoli, Nicolás. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: White, Benjamen. Earlham Institute; Reino Unido Fil: Rahman, Farzana. University of South Wales; Reino Unido Fil: Hassan, Mehedi. University of South Wales; Reino Unido Fil: Özkeserli, Zeynep. Acibadem University; Turquía Fil: Ashano, Efejiro. National Biotechnology Development Agency; Nigeria. Covenant University; Nigeria Fil: Hughitt, V. Keith. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos Fil: Uzair Khan, Muhammad. CECOS University of Information Technology and Emerging Sciences; Pakistán Fil: Murphy, Denis J.. University of South Wales; Reino Unido

Background EPHB2 (Ephrin Receptor B2) are instrumental in signaling pathways like MAPK mediating tumour suppression, progenitor cell proliferation etc. [1,2]. Previous research has investigated the possibility that disrupted EphB2NMDA R binding is relevant to the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a condition that is characterized by severe synaptic impairment. Hence it can be inferred the role of EPHB2 and associated single nucleotide polymorphism is essential in studying the signaling pathways as well as neurodevelopmental processes associated with it. Studying the impact of the protein and the associated non-synonymous SNPS can also decode the role of genetic variations with respect to the role of the protein in the signaling pathway as well as susceptibility towards the disease. Materials and methods The protein sequence data for EPHB2 [Accession ID: P29323.5] was collected from NCBI protein sequence database. SNP information for the computational analysis was obtained from NCBI dbSNP and Ensemble Gene Browser. Structure of EPHB2 protein was obtained from RCSB Protein Data Bank. (PDB ID:2QBX). A point mutation in native EPHB2 protein at position 80, Arginine (R) to Histidine (H) was introduced using SPDB Viewer package (Figure 1). We used SIFT, Polyphen, PhD-SNP and MutPred tools in order to examine the lethal nsSNPs occurring in the EPHB2 coding region. We filtered the most pathological mutation by combining the scores of then above servers. We implemented SNP Effect 4.0 to examine the possible phenotypic consequences at molecular, cellular, and individual level. Volume of the recep

Background BCL2 and Bax are two members of BCL2 family which is responsible for the regulation of apotosis [1,2]. BCL2 protein duels with its counteracting twin, a partner known as Bax (Figure 1). When Bax is in excess, cells execute a death command. When BCL2 dominates, the program is inhibited and cells survive. The intent is to propose a drug complex which aids in regulation of the BCL2 and Bax levels, aiding in treatment of autism. Navitoclax is known drug responsible for inhibiting BCL2 production for the treatment of cancer. We suggest a drug formulation of navitoclax with a Bax channel locker. Materials and methods The structures of Navitoclax (Pubchem ID : 923564-51-6) and Bax channel locker (Pubchem ID :335165-68-9) were taken from Pubchem database. Their binding affinity and energies with target components were analysed using Autodock 4.0.The active site residues in the target proteins BCL2 (Figure 2) and BAX were determined by literature studies and using CastP and Sp align software. The admet properties and pharmacological properties of the drug were calculated using Discovery studio software.

As part of the International Society for Computational Biology Student Council (ISCB-SC), Regional Student Groups (RSGs) have helped organise workshops in the emerging fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. Workshops are a great way for students to gain hands-on experience and rapidly acquire knowledge in advanced research topics where curriculum-based education is yet to be developed. RSG workshops have improved dissemination of knowledge of the latest bioinformatics techniques and resources among student communities and young scientists, especially in developing nations. This article highlights some of the benefits and challenges encountered while running RSG workshops. Examples cover a variety of subjects, including introductory bioinformatics and advanced bioinformatics, as well as soft skills such as networking, career development, and socializing. The collective experience condensed in this article is a useful starting point for students wishing to organise their own tailor-made workshops.