Sequence Alignment

Abstract

Much of biology is based on recognition of shared characters among organisms, extending from shared biochemical pathways among eukaryotes to shared skeletal structures among tetrapods. The advent of protein and nucleic acid sequencing in molecular biology made possible comparison of organisms in terms of their DNA or the proteins that DNA encodes. These comparisons are important for a number of reasons. First, they can be used to establish evolutionary relationships among organisms using methods analogous to those employed for anatomical characters. Second, comparison may allow identification of functionally conserved sequences (e.g., DNA sequences controlling gene expression). Finally, such comparisons between humans and other species may identify corresponding genes in model organisms, which can be genetically manipulated to develop models for human diseases.