BLAST
BLAST
BLAST (pronounced: /blæst/), an acronym for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, is a bioinformatics algorithm used to compare primary biological sequence information, such as the amino-acid sequences of proteins or the nucleotides of DNA and/or RNA sequences.
Etymology
The term BLAST is an acronym which stands for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. The term was first used in this context by Stephen Altschul, Warren Gish, Webb Miller, Eugene Myers, and David J. Lipman in 1990.
Related Terms
- Sequence alignment: A way of arranging the sequences of DNA, RNA, or protein to identify regions of similarity that may be a consequence of functional, structural, or evolutionary relationships between the sequences.
- Bioinformatics: An interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex.
- Algorithm: A set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.
- Amino acid sequence: The order in which amino acids are connected by a peptide bond in the chain.
- Nucleotide sequence: The order of nucleotides within a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) or RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecule.
- Protein: A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order.
- DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
- RNA: Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on BLAST
- Wikipedia's article - BLAST
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