Abstract:

In order to edit the bioinformatics manuscripts accurately, we analyzed errors in application of the nouns both different and related in bioinformatics used in scientific journals. Our results showed that there were many errors even ambiguity in description of the basic terms in bioinformatics articles in scientific journals, including gene, protein, nucleotide sequence, amino acid sequence, homology, and phylogenetic relationship. Also, analysis of incorrect expression of some gene and protein symbols revealed that some gene symbols were not expressed by an italic type, especially the primers named with the gene or the recombinant plasmids, although the gene symbols had been expressed in italics in 90% scientific journals to show the differences between gene and protein. The findings can provide reference for journal editors to understand of the meaning and correct expression of some basic terms in biotechnological articles.

Key words: science and technology journal, bioinformatics, gene, protein