PHIBLAST Meaning and
Definition
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PHIBLAST, short for Position-Specific Iterated BLAST, is a variant of the widely-used Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). It is a computational algorithm and tool used in bioinformatics for comparing protein or nucleotide sequences to a database in order to identify similar or homologous sequences. Developed by Dr. Stephen F. Altschul and colleagues in 1997, PHIBLAST builds upon the principles of the original BLAST algorithm to incorporate position-specific scoring matrices (PSSMs), which provide improved sensitivity and accuracy in sequence alignments.
The main feature that distinguishes PHIBLAST from other variants of BLAST is its ability to consider the evolutionary conservation of amino acids or nucleotides at specific positions within a sequence. This is achieved by utilizing a PSSM, which is a matrix that stores the observed frequencies of each residue at every position of a multiple sequence alignment. By taking into account this positional information, PHIBLAST enhances the reliability of sequence similarity searches and facilitates the identification of more distant homologs.
The PHIBLAST algorithm goes through an iterative process involving multiple rounds of searching and database building, refining the PSSM with each iteration to improve the scoring function. This iterative approach allows PHIBLAST to obtain more accurate alignments and handle sequences that are difficult to align using other methods.
PHIBLAST finds applications in various areas of molecular biology, including protein family classification, functional annotation, and identifying protein domains. Its ability to uncover more distant homologs makes it a valuable tool for researchers seeking to identify similarities and relationships between proteins or nucleotide sequences.
Common Misspellings for PHIBLAST
- ohiblast
- lhiblast
- -hiblast
- 0hiblast
- pgiblast
- pbiblast
- pniblast
- pjiblast
- puiblast
- pyiblast
- phublast
- phjblast
- phkblast
- phoblast
- ph9blast
- ph8blast
- phivlast
- phinlast
- phihlast
- phiglast
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