The ever-expanding tcp conjugation locus of pCW3 from Clostridium perfringens

A new approach to rapid sequence comparison, basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), directly approximates alignments that optimize a measure of local similarity, the maximal segment pair (MSP) score. Recent mathematical results on the stochastic properties of MSP scores allow an analysis of the performance of this method as well as the statistical significance of alignments it generates. The basic algorithm is simple and robust; it can be implemented in a number of ways and applied in a variety of contexts including straightforward DNA and protein sequence database searches, motif searches, gene identification searches, and in the analysis of multiple regions of similarity in long DNA sequences. In addition to its flexibility and tractability to mathematical analysis, BLAST is an order of magnitude faster than existing sequence comparison tools of comparable sensitivity.

Summary: Easyfig is a Python application for creating linear comparison figures of multiple genomic loci with an easy-to-use graphical user interface. BLAST comparisons between multiple genomic regions, ranging from single genes to whole prokaryote chromosomes, can be generated, visualized and interactively coloured, enabling a rapid transition between analysis and the preparation of publication quality figures. Availability: Easyfig is freely available (under a GPL license) for download (for Mac OS X, Unix and Microsoft Windows) from the SourceForge web site: http://easyfig.sourceforge.net/. Contact: s.beatson@uq.edu.au