Protein Comparative Sequence Analysis and Computer Modeling

A problem frequently encountered by the biological scientist is the identification of a previously unknown gene or protein sequence, where there are few or no clues as to the biochemical function, ligand specificity, gene regulation, protein–protein interactions, tissue specificity, cellular localization, developmental phase of activity, or biological role. Through the process of bioinformatics there are now many approaches for predicting answers to at least some of these questions, often then allowing the design of more insightful experiments to characterize more definitively the new protein.