Multiple Sequence Alignments Using Motif Assembly

摘要

Multiple sequence alignments are useful for phylogenetic inference and are used along with previously obtained knowledge to infer the structure and function of a protein. Alignments found with current multiple sequence alignment methods rarely reveal the best model of sequence evolution; hand-editing of alignments is generally required to ensure that important biological motifs are aligned. In the research reported here, a multiple sequence alignment pipeline was devised that anchors these motifs and builds a multiple sequence alignment around them. The need to hand-adjust alignments around key motifs is eliminated. For an ideal dataset, this alignment method produces alignments superior to those produced by native alignment algorithms.