Genome Resources and Comparative Analysis Tools for Cardiovascular Research

Disorders of the cardiovascular system are often caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors that jointly contribute to individual susceptibility. Genomic data and bioinformatics tools generated from genome projects, coupled with functional verification, offer novel approaches to study both rare single-gene and complex multigenic cardiovascular diseases. These approaches include gene mapping using genome variation, especially single-nucleotide polymorphisms and comparative genomics within and between species. This chapter illustrates the major genome resources, associated bioinformatics tools, and their potential application in cardiovascular research.