CIPF offers one of the tools most used by scientists from around the world for the analysis of genes.

-Blast2GO allows to analyse a large volume of data quick and easy

-the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh used the application in their genetic studies

-access is free and open to the scientific community through the CIPF website

ValenciaOctober 2009.- scientists from the Department of Bioinformatics Research Center Prince Philip have developed a computer tool analysis of genes has become one of the most often cited in its category, and therefore one of the most commonly used by other researchers in the results of their artscientists ass.

The tool is named Blast2GO and is used in the field of genomics research to predict the function of unknown genes. Currently, research on genome gives rise to a huge amount of data on thousands of genes extracted from sequencing experiments; and the only way to operate with them is through computer methods can determine the function of these genes.

Blast2GO serves to develop a first prediction of the function of genes found, and makes it easy to handle a large volume of data thanks to bioinformatics.

The director of Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Rubén Moreno, points out that this tool is an example of the quality of the advanced bioinformatics applications that CIPF puts at the disposal of the scientific community, settling as a reference in the field of genomics research ”.

The application has been developed by two researchers of the laboratory of Bioinformatics of CIPF, Ana Conesa scientists and Stefan Götz, and its use is free and open to the entire scientific community through the CIPF website.

An application backed by figures

The main indicator of efficiency and the impact of this CIPF bioinformatics tool is the high number of citations contained in scientific work, i.e., the number of times that other scientists from various centres have used the application for analysis of data in their research.

Blast2GO has already accumulated around 200 citations from scientific articles until the present time, and is at the head of the set of tools that develop similar functions ”, says the researcher Ana Conesa.

Since its inception in 2005, Blast2GO has accumulated more than 79,000 uses, and it has been used for around 4,800 scientists around the world, a number that has made this application in the most used of the set of tools that perform similar analysis in the field of genomics research. In the past two months alone have counted around 8,000 uses or the tool downloads,

, Blast2GO receives an average of 180 daily visits of companies, universities and research centres around the globe. By geographical areas, the main users are in Europe, and countries as Israel, United States.UU and Canada. In the Asian continent, include uses of China and Japan, along with other labs located in India, Indonesia or Thailand.

Within this international projection, the use of the tool extends to other places like Australia, Argentina, or South Africa. If you look at the world map of use of the application, we see that he agreed fully with areas of the planet where genomics research is being ”, says Ana Conesa.

Regular visitors to the application include reference centres as the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh – Center which created the sheep Dolly-, which has signed an agreement with CIPF to use the application in genetic studies. In addition, the tool is used also by other centres of great prestige in the field of genomics research as UC Davis (University of California), or the U.S. (United States Department of Agriculture USDA) agricultural research service.

The bioinformatics application bases its operation on the combination of a previous system of analysis of genomic sequences called BLAST ”, with representation and extraction of information computer technologies. Initially, Blast2GO was conceived as a collaboration between the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), and from its location in the IPPC has achieved substantial growth in its use and functionality.

the team of researchers of the laboratory of Bioinformatics of the CIPF.

The reasons for the success

Basically looking at the public databases other genes sequence similar to those you want to characterize and analyzing information about the known genes, we can generate a prediction on the role of the unknown ”, said Ana Conesa. The IPPC scientists have perfected this method so that this first prediction develops in a way very fast, reliable and affordable genomic researchers.

Stefan Götz bioinformaticist explains that the tool is very easy to use for biologists and at the same time is extremely powerful for their capacity to analyse many data at the same time ”. Gótz says so extracts the most relevant information very rapidly and large-scale searches and data-processing applied to tens of thousands of genes ”.

The system that runs Blast2GO employs other elements that allow to develop statistical analyses on the data beyond the first prediction, and help the handling and processing of the information collected on the genomic experiments. When a researcher is to characterize the genome of a new organism, found in the application a friendly and intuitive tool that additionally offers the possibility of comparing data to know what for example is the most abundant function, if it is the same in similar agencies or if you have some features that do not have other ”, points out Ana Conesa.

Addition, the program offers service to the user through which solve doubts and queries. In this sense, implementation is in continuous review and improvement, because as stated Conesa, this feedback allows the tool was developed with the support of the scientific community, in accordance with the requests and suggestions of the users themselves ”.