Sequencing Softwares

Sequencing Softwares

Bioinformatics software plays a variety of roles in the general field of sequencing, including assembling genomes and identifying genes and regulatory elements. Software also helps investigators analyze similarities and differences between genes and organisms. Several dozen companies—including DNASTAR, InforMax, and Nonlinear Dynamics—create software for manipulating genes and DNA sequences.

DNASTAR, for instance, makes the Lasergene suite. According to John Schroeder, vice president of research and development at DNASTAR, this software performs many tasks: sequence assembly and finishing, primer design, gene discovery and annotation, sequence pair and family alignment with phylogeny, restriction site analysis and mapping, and protein structure analysis. “Basically, Lasergene provides a wide range of functionality,” Schroeder says. He adds that more than three thousand research articles mention using this software.

A variety of features makes this package so widely used. First, it works with most of the major file formats. Schroeder says, “Our priority is ease of use, and we want this to be as convenient a package as possible.” For example, this package lets a user drag-and-drop whole folders of sequences.


DNASTAR offers other products, too. GenVision—a DNASTAR plug-in for Adobe Illustrator—helps scientists visualize expression data, functional comparisons, genome presentations, and more. StarBlast, on the other hand, stores data and can be used to publish a sequence online.