title: Divide-and-conquer multiple alignment with segment-based constraints.
abstract: A large number of methods for multiple sequence alignment are currently available. Recent benchmarking tests demonstrated that strengths and drawbacks of these methods differ substantially. Global strategies can be outperformed by approaches based on local similarities and vice versa, depending on the characteristics of the input sequences. In recent years, mixed approaches that include both global and local features have shown promising results. Herein, we introduce a new algorithm for multiple sequence alignment that integrates the global divide-and-conquer approach with the local segment-based approach, thereby combining the strengths of those two strategies.
authors.affiliation: Bielefeld University, Department of Genome Informatics, Technical Faculty, Bielefeld, Germany. micha@sammeth.net
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sammeth
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoye
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000379:methods*; D017421:Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*