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Multiple Sequence Alignment

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Bioinformatics

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1525))

Abstract

The increasing importance of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques has highlighted the key role of multiple sequence alignment (MSA) in comparative structure and function analysis of biological sequences. MSA often leads to fundamental biological insight into sequence–structure–function relationships of nucleotide or protein sequence families. Significant advances have been achieved in this field, and many useful tools have been developed for constructing alignments, although many biological and methodological issues are still open. This chapter first provides some background information and considerations associated with MSA techniques, concentrating on the alignment of protein sequences. Then, a practical overview of currently available methods and a description of their specific advantages and limitations are given, to serve as a helpful guide or starting point for researchers who aim to construct a reliable MSA.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Integrative Bioinformatics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Punto Bawono, Maurits Dijkstra, Anton Feenstra, Sanne Abeln & Jaap Heringa

  2. Bioinformatics Department, BaseClear, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Walter Pirovano

Authors
  1. Punto Bawono
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  2. Maurits Dijkstra
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  3. Walter Pirovano
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  4. Anton Feenstra
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  5. Sanne Abeln
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  6. Jaap Heringa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaap Heringa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jonathan M. Keith

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Bawono, P., Dijkstra, M., Pirovano, W., Feenstra, A., Abeln, S., Heringa, J. (2017). Multiple Sequence Alignment. In: Keith, J. (eds) Bioinformatics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1525. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6622-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6622-6_8

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6620-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6622-6

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