Keywords: DNAssist, DNA Analyzer

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.