Quantifying the notion of ‘clumpiness’ within alignments obtained from BLAST similarity searches

There are numerous methods utilised in the determination of the function of newly sequenced DNA or proteins. One such method is the use of sequence similarity searches, such as BLAST. However, due to the speed at which sequences can be produced and the ever-increasing size of the databases against which they are searched, it is becoming progressively more difficult for the scientist to carry out the necessary data analysis manually. Therefore, an automation of the analysis of the BLAST results should greatly reduce the amount of labour for the scientist and so improve the chances of accelerating research progress or indicate new fields of investigation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo