Chapter “Alignment of Biological Sequences with Jalview” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Probabilistic models are becoming increasingly important in analysing the huge amount of data being produced by large-scale DNA-sequencing efforts such as the Human Genome Project. For example, hidden Markov models are used for analysing biological sequences, linguistic-grammar-based probabilistic models for identifying RNA secondary structure, and probabilistic evolutionary models for inferring phylogenies of sequences from different organisms. This book gives a unified, up-to-date and self-contained account, with a Bayesian slant, of such methods, and more generally to probabilistic methods of sequence analysis. Written by an interdisciplinary team of authors, it aims to be accessible to molecular biologists, computer scientists, and mathematicians with no formal knowledge of the other fields, and at the same time present the state-of-the-art in this new and highly important field.

The sequencing of the human genome involved thousands of scientists but used relatively few tools. Obtaining sequences is simpler, but aligning the sequences remains a complicated but underappreciated aspect of comparative molecular biology. This book discusses the practice of alignment, and the procedures by which alignments are established.

Handbook of Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics provides a comprehensive reference volume for mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers, as well as students and reference librarians. The material is presented so that key information can be located and used quickly and easily. Each chapter includes a glossary. Individual topics are covered in sections and subsections within chapters, each of which is organized into clearly identifiable parts: definitions, facts, and examples. Examples are provided to illustrate some of the key definitions, facts, and algorithms. Some curious and entertaining facts and puzzles are also included. Readers will also find an extensive collection of biographies. This second edition is a major revision. It includes extensive additions and updates. Since the first edition appeared in 1999, many new discoveries have been made and new areas have grown in importance, which are covered in this edition.

This book is a practical guide for biologists who use multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) for their data analysis and are looking for a comprehensive overview of the many different programs. Despite their important role in data analysis, there is uncertainty among researchers about exactly how MSA programs work - not to mention how and why the different analyzes lead to different results. Which program is the right one for evaluating my data and how can I ensure that I have drawn all relevant findings from the alignments? This book offers helpful explanations and background information without requiring extensive bioinformatics knowledge and slowly introduces the reader to the topic.In the first part of the book, the possible fields of application as well as the formats that are usually produced by MSA programs are described in detail. The central algorithms as well as the internal processes of the most common MSA programs of the past and the present are also explained in an uncomplicated manner in greater detail. The second part of the book is a detailed, data-based comparison between MSA programs, which is intended to help you decide which program to use for your next alignment.

Bioinformatics: A Practical Guide to NCBI Databases and Sequence Alignments provides the basics of bioinformatics and in-depth coverage of NCBI databases, sequence alignment, and NCBI Sequence Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). As bioinformatics has become essential for life sciences, the book has been written specifically to address the need of a large audience including undergraduates, graduates, researchers, healthcare professionals, and bioinformatics professors who need to use the NCBI databases, retrieve data from them, and use BLAST to find evolutionarily related sequences, sequence annotation, construction of phylogenetic tree, and the conservative domain of a protein, to name just a few. Technical details of alignment algorithms are explained with a minimum use of mathematical formulas and with graphical illustrations. Key Features Provides readers with the most-used bioinformatics knowledge of bioinformatics databases and alignments including both theory and application via illustrations and worked examples. Discusses the use of Windows Command Prompt, Linux shell, R, and Python for both Entrez databases and BLAST. The companion website (http://www.hamiddi.com/instructors/) contains tutorials, R and Python codes, instructor materials including slides, exercises, and problems for students. This is the ideal textbook for bioinformatics courses taken by students of life sciences and for researchers wishing to develop their knowledge of bioinformatics to facilitate their own research.

From basic performing of sequence alignment through a proficiency at understanding how most industry-standard alignment algorithms achieve their results, Multiple Sequence Alignment Methods describes numerous algorithms and their nuances in chapters written by the experts who developed these algorithms. The various multiple sequence alignment algorithms presented in this handbook give a flavor of the broad range of choices available for multiple sequence alignment generation, and their diversity is a clear reflection of the complexity of the multiple sequence alignment problem and the amount of information that can be obtained from multiple sequence alignments. Each of these chapters not only describes the algorithm it covers but also presents instructions and tips on using their implementation, as is fitting with its inclusion in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series. Authoritative and practical, Multiple Sequence Alignment Methods provides a readily available resource which will allow practitioners to experiment with different algorithms and find the particular algorithm that is of most use in their application.

This book provides an up-to-date review of classic and advanced bioinformatics approaches and their utility in rice research. It summarizes databases and tools for analyzing DNA, proteins and gene expression profiles, mapping genetic variations, annotation of protein and RNA molecules, phylogenetic analysis, and pathway enrichment. In addition, it presents high-throughput technologies that are widely used to provide deep insights into the genetic architecture of important traits in the rice genome. The book subsequently discusses techniques for identifying RNA-protein, DNA-protein interactions, and molecular markers, including SNP and microsatellites, in the contexts of rice breeding and genetics. Lastly, it explores various tools that are used to identify and characterize non-coding RNA in rice and their potential role in rice research.

Essential Bioinformatics is a concise yet comprehensive textbook of bioinformatics, which provides a broad introduction to the entire field. Written specifically for a life science audience, the basics of bioinformatics are explained, followed by discussions of the state-of-the-art computational tools available to solve biological research problems. All key areas of bioinformatics are covered including biological databases, sequence alignment, genes and promoter prediction, molecular phylogenetics, structural bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics. The book emphasizes how computational methods work and compares the strengths and weaknesses of different methods. This balanced yet easily accessible text will be invaluable to students who do not have sophisticated computational backgrounds. Technical details of computational algorithms are explained with a minimum use of mathematical formulae; graphical illustrations are used in their place to aid understanding. The effective synthesis of existing literature as well as in-depth and up-to-date coverage of all key topics in bioinformatics make this an ideal textbook for all bioinformatics courses taken by life science students and for researchers wishing to develop their knowledge of bioinformatics to facilitate their own research.

Sequence - Evolution - Function is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis. Sequence - Evolution - Function should help bridge the "digital divide" between biologists and computer scientists, allowing biologists to better grasp the peculiarities of the emerging field of Genome Biology and to learn how to benefit from the enormous amount of sequence data available in the public databases. The book is non-technical with respect to the computer methods for genome analysis and discusses these methods from the user's viewpoint, without addressing mathematical and algorithmic details. Prior practical familiarity with the basic methods for sequence analysis is a major advantage, but a reader without such experience will be able to use the book as an introduction to these methods. This book is perfect for introductory level courses in computational methods for comparative and functional genomics.