&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
| Original author(s) | Stephen Altschul, Warren Gish, Webb Miller, Eugene Myers, and David Lipman |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | NCBI |
| Stable release | 2.16.0+[1]
/ 25 June 2024 |
| Written in | C and C++[2] |
| Operating system | UNIX, Linux, Mac, MS-Windows |
| Type | Bioinformatics tool |
| License | Public domain |
| Website | blast |
In bioinformatics, BLAST (basic local alignment search tool)[3] is an algorithm and program for comparing primary biological sequence information, such as the amino-acid sequences of proteins or the nucleotides of DNA and/or RNA sequences. A BLAST search enables a researcher to compare a subject protein or nucleotide sequence (called a query) with a library or database of sequences, and identify database sequences that resemble the query sequence above a certain threshold. For example, following the discovery of a previously unknown gene in the mouse, a scientist will typically perform a BLAST search of the human genome to see if humans carry a similar gene; BLAST will identify sequences in the human genome that resemble the mouse gene based on similarity of sequence.
- ^ BLAST Release Notes. National Center for Biotechnology Information (US). 24 June 2024.
- ^ "BLAST Developer Information". blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- ^ Douglas Martin (21 February 2008). "Samuel Karlin, Versatile Mathematician, Dies at 83". The New York Times.