DNAssist provides an intuitive, single interface within which sequence files are displayed, edited and analyzed. The user can customize the display in editor windows by selecting the font, font size, and line length. A sequence is analyzed by simply bringing an editor window to the top, and selecting the required analysis from the menu. All analyses can also be performed on a selected region of the sequence in an editor window. Right clicking the mouse will provide a context-sensitive popup menu. This gives the user a convenient shortcut to most menu items. The analyses available on DNAssist include: The conversion of a DNA sequence between the circular and linear forms The conversion of DNA to a RNA or a protein sequence The conversion of RNA to a DNA or a protein sequence Translating a DNA sequence to the amino acid sequence in one, three or all six frames Locating open reading frames (ORFs) in a DNA sequence Locating specific sequence patterns in a sequence (this allows wildcards, mismatches and gaps) Performing a restriction enzyme analysis with a defined set of enzymes Performing a DNA promoter analysis with specified transcription factors Locating strong nucleosome positioning signals in DNA Performing multiple alignments of DNA, RNA or proteins Obtaining the molecular weight of a nucleic acid or protein Obtaining the melting temperature of an oligonucleotide Calculating the pI of a protein Calculating the hydrophilic, hydrophobic or antigenic profile of a protein Obtaining the molar absorption coefficient and E0.1% of a nucleic acid or a protein Obtaining the nucleotide or amino acid composition of a nucleic acid or protein DNAssist brings all these features together into one tightly integrated Windows application. The result of an analysis is displayed in a result window and can be printed, saved to disk or copied and pasted into third party applications. Saved or copied results retain the format in which they were displayed.
