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Welcome screen

MegAlign Pro Interface » Welcome screen

The Welcome “project” opens when you launch MegAlign Pro and is a central location for opening projects, searching NCBI databases, getting help, and much more. As you add projects, the Welcome “project” will remain as the leftmost tab unless you…

Research references

Appendix » Research references

Darling AE, Mau B, and Perna NT (2010). “progressiveMauve: Multiple Genome Alignment with Gene Gain, Loss, and Rearrangement.” PLoS One. 5(6):e11147. (See the PLOS ONE entry.) Dayhoff MO, Schwartz R and Orcutt BC (1978). “A model of evolutionary change in…

When one track is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When one track is selected

If a single track has been selected in the Overview or Sequences view, the Details panel contains the following information. Heading Type of track (in blue). Summary – Basic information about what is displayed in the selected…

Panels

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels

Settings panels allow you to optimize the look, contents and layout of the MegAlign Pro window. To learn what can be done within each panel and the expandable “sections” within each panel, click the links…

When one feature is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When one feature is selected

If a single feature has been selected in a track in the Overview or Sequences view (e.g., by clicking one time on the feature), the Details panel contains the following information: Heading Feature name (in blue). Type – Feature type. Left…

When a portion of multiple sequences is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When a portion of multiple sequences is selected

When a portion of multiple aligned sequences has been selected (e.g., by triple-clicking on a feature, or by dragging across the consensus sequence with the mouse), the Details panel contains the following information: Heading Sequences –…

Sequences view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Sequences view

The Sequences View displays added sequences and aligned sequences. Sequence names selected in this view are simultaneously selected all other views in MegAlign Pro. Similarly, sequence names selected elsewhere will be highlighted in the Sequences View. To access the…

When a portion of a pairwise alignment is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When a portion of a pairwise alignment is selected

When a portion of a sequence has been selected in the Pairwise view (e.g., by double-clicking on a feature, or by dragging across the sequence with the mouse), the Details panel contains the following information: Heading Selected Region …

Overview

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Overview

The Overview provides a way to navigate within the sequences, no matter what type of sequences or alignment is used. In the case of genomic alignments generated by Mauve, the Overview also allows you to explore the relationships between multiple aligned blocks.…

Supported file types

Appendix » Supported file types

For a list of file formats supported by this DNASTAR product, please see the File Formats page of our website.

Distance view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Distance view

The Distance view shows a matrix (i.e., table) of numbers representing distances computed for each pair of sequences for the selected aligned block. Sequence distances are used as input in creating the phylogenetic tree shown in the Tree view. Selections within the…

Tree view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Tree view

The Tree view shows evolutionary relationships estimated from the multiple sequence alignment, and is calculated using the current tree-building algorithm and settings, and the currently-selected Distance metric. This view is only accessible after you have performed a…

When a portion of a sequence is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When a portion of a sequence is selected

When a portion of a sequence has been selected in any view (e.g., by double-clicking on a feature, or by dragging across the sequence with the mouse) except the Pairwise view, the Details panel contains the following information: Heading …

Table view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Table view

To access the Table view, perform a BLAST search. When the search is complete, the Text, Table and Pairwise views are displayed together in a single popup window that is separate from the main MegAlign Pro window. To reopen all three views at a later time, click on the…

Welcome to MegAlign Pro

MegAlign Pro is Lasergene’s application for generating multiple and pairwise alignments of protein and/or nucleic acid sequences using your choice of alignment methods. Easily navigate between synchronized views with a click of a button, and rearrange views and…

Views

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views

The left side of the MegAlign Pro window is comprised of one or more “views.” To learn more about the types of views and how to change their appearances, click the links below. View types: Overview Sequences view Pairwise view Distance view Tree…

Overview after aligning and entering additional sequences

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Overview » Overview after aligning and entering additional sequences

The Overview has different appearances, depending on the stage and workflow. In all cases, sequences are represented as either gray or colored blocks. Any sequence that is not part of an alignment is shown in solid gray. After performing an alignment, any new…

When a non-empty document is open

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When a non-empty document is open

If a document is open and contains sequences (whether they have been aligned or not) and nothing is selected, the Details panel contains the following information: Heading The project filename. Sequence type – DNA, RNA, or…

See the following topics to learn how to: Move the cursor to a specific position on a sequence or alignment Search for or within a sequence using a text query Search for nucleotide or residue strings Search for disagreements between…

When one sequence is selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When one sequence is selected

If a single sequence has been selected in any view, the Details panel may contain a subset of the following information: Heading The default name, if present, appears in blue above ‘Organism.’ Organism – The organism from which the…

Part B: Use a Local pairwise alignment method

Perform a Pairwise Alignment » Try It! – Align transcripts to genes using Local and Global pairwise alignments » Part B: Use a Local pairwise alignment method

Now that you have finished Part A of the tutorial, this part shows how you can use a local pairwise alignment to resolve the correct mapping of the first intron in isoF and isoC. Click on Pairwise view tab. Look at the left drop-down menu at the top of the view…

Options section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Tracks panel » Options section

To access settings for the track type currently selected in the Tracks panel, click on the Tracks panel expand bar entitled “Options,” or choose View > Tracks > Options. The Options section varies in appearance depending upon the selection. For discussions of each…

Export data to a file

Export » Export data to a file

Several commands in the File menu allow you to export alignments, distance matrices and phylogenetic trees, as well as aligned sequences and the consensus sequence. Unless you wish to export all sequences in the project, you must first make a selection. Command…

Create a new MegAlign Pro project

Create or Open a Project » Create a new MegAlign Pro project

To create a new MegAlign Pro project: Do any of the following: From the Welcome tab, click New Project on the left. Then choose one of the options on the right: New blank alignment project – Opens an empty project window. New alignment…

When multiple tracks are selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When multiple tracks are selected

If two or more tracks have been selected in the Overview or Sequences view, the Details panel contains the following information. Heading Number of tracks currently selected (in blue). Summary – Description of options available for the…

Pairwise view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Pairwise view

The Pairwise view displays sequences after performing a pairwise alignment or a BLAST or Entrez database search. Sequence names selected in this view are simultaneously selected all other views in MegAlign Pro. Similarly, sequence names selected elsewhere will be…

Perform an initial multiple alignment

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Perform an initial multiple alignment

To perform the initial multiple sequence alignment: Select three or more sequences to align, or select nothing if you want to align all sequences. (Note: If you choose just two sequences, or if only two are present, you will be prompted to instead do a pairwise…

When multiple sequences are selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When multiple sequences are selected

If two or more sequences have been selected in any view, the Details panel contains the following information: Heading The number of sequences selected (in blue). Sequence type – DNA, RNA or Protein. Min. and Max. sequence lengths –…

Part C: Use a Global pairwise alignment method

Perform a Pairwise Alignment » Try It! – Align transcripts to genes using Local and Global pairwise alignments » Part C: Use a Global pairwise alignment method

Since the Local pairwise alignment in Part B was not an improvement over the multiple alignments in Part A, you will now try a Global pairwise alignment. This type of alignment forces the ends of both sequences to be aligned. Click the gear icon on the Pairwise view…

Generate a phylogenetic tree

Phylogenetic Trees » Generate a phylogenetic tree

To generate a new phylogenetic tree: Add sequences and perform a multiple alignment. Use any of the following methods to direct MegAlign Pro to create a tree using the algorithm you specify. For helpful advice on choosing the best tree for your data, see this…

Filter search results

Search for Sequences Online » Filter search results

After doing a BLAST or Entrez search, the Table view shows a list of potential matches. To filter this table to include only matches that meet additional criteria, click the Filter results tool () in the header and then click Filter. This opens the Filter dialog. The…

Features

MegAlign Pro provides a wizard for copying features from one sequence to another, a procedure known as “feature mapping.” To learn more about how to map features or remove existing features, see: Map features Features, Options and Output wizard…

Part C: Change sequence names and rendering in the Sequences view

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a Clustal Omega alignment » Part C: Change sequence names and rendering in the Sequences view

In Part B, you looked at the Sequences view while learning the function of the "viewport." You will now explore the Sequences view in more depth. The Sequences view displays entered sequences and aligned sequences. Sequences selected in this view are simultaneously…

Phylogenetic Trees

MegAlign Pro lets you create and display one or more phylogenetic trees for a multiple alignment. The trees can use different algorithms, or the same algorithm with different settings. To learn more, see the following topics: Generate a phylogenetic tree Advice…

Features tracks

Tracks » Features tracks

To display sequence features: The visibility of feature (annotation) tracks in the Overview, Sequences view and Pairwise view is dependent on: Whether or not tracks are visible in those views. To display hidden tracks, click on the plus sign next to the sequence of…

Create or Open a Project

Before you can add sequences to a project and align those sequences, you first need to create a MegAlign Pro project. If you already have a project from MegAlign Pro (or its predecessor, MegAlign), you can also open that to view or make changes. For details about each…

Modify a multiple alignment

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Modify a multiple alignment

The following table describes ways to modify an initial multiple alignment: Task See this topic To realign a range of aligned sequences using different parameters or a different alignment engine Subalign sequences To merge two…

When multiple features are selected

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel » When multiple features are selected

If two or more features have been selected in a track in the Overview or Sequences view, the Details panel contains the following information: Heading Number of features currently selected (in blue). Type – List of all feature types represented…

Search for text or accession number matches (Entrez)

Search for Sequences Online » Search for text or accession number matches (Entrez)

The Entrez Search wizard is used to search a text query or accession number against NCBI’s Entrez databases for nucleotides or proteins. To launch the Entrez search dialog, choose Search > Text Search in > NCBI Nucleotide or Search > Text Search in > NCBI…

Rename sequences manually

Sequences » Rename sequences manually

To manually rename a selected sequence: Select a single sequence name from any MegAlign Pro view, then right-click on it and choose Rename Sequence(s). Alternatively, select the sequence name and choose Edit > Rename Sequence(s). The Choose Label dialog opens…

Perform a Multiple Alignment

MegAlign Pro supports the following multiple alignment methods: Clustal Omega, Clustal W, MAFFT, MUSCLE and Mauve. Click here for descriptions and a comparison of the different methods. To learn how to perform, modify, and troubleshoot multiple alignments, see the…

Search wizard: Search

Search for Sequences Online » Search for sequence matches (BLAST) » Search wizard: Search

The Search screen is the second of four screens in the BLAST Search wizard. The Search screen is used to choose the BLAST program and database. Specify whether you wish to search for Nucleotides or Proteins. Select the desired BLAST program from the Using…

Overview after other alignments

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Overview » Overview after other alignments

The Overview has different appearances, depending on the stage and workflow. After aligning with a method other than Mauve, or after performing a Mauve alignment that results in a single aligned block, any blocks in the Overview will be green and will have the same…

Print Images

To print an image of any MegAlign Pro view, whether it is currently active or not: Choose File > Print or use Ctrl/Cmd+P. The Print Document dialog opens: Use the Printer drop-down menu to choose the desired printer from a list of available…

Distance section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Style panel » Distance section

The Distance section affects the appearance of the Distance view. To access this section, click on the Style panel expand bar entitled Distance, or choose View > Style > Distance. *Note: In Lasergene 17.1 and earlier, this section was used to specify distance…

Customize the layout of other window components

Customize the Look and Layout » Customize the layout of other window components

Controls for this application’s view, panels and expand bars are described in the following table. For information that pertains only to views, also see Customize the appearance and layout of views. Task “How To” Show or open a hidden…

Gap treatment options

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Distance view » Gap treatment options

To change the distance metric used to generate the Distance view table, click the Change Analysis Parameters tool ( ) in the Distance view. This opens the Analysis Options dialog where you can specify the Metric and Gap Treatment. Another way to access the same dialog…

Add ungapped sequences to a project

Sequences » Add ungapped sequences to a project

To add standard (ungapped) sequences, or additional sequences, to an existing project: You can add standard DNA, RNA or protein sequences from a wide variety of file types, including SeqNinja .star files. (See Advantages of using SeqNinja files). *Note: To add only a…

Add only the portion of sequence that corresponds to a feature

Sequences » Add only the portion of sequence that corresponds to a feature

This topic describes two methods that allow you to align only the portions of sequences the correspond to a particular gene or other feature. Other portions of the sequences are discarded or removed prior to alignment, making the alignment for that gene both faster and…

Specify a reference sequence

Sequences » Specify a reference sequence

This topic describes several reasons you might want to use a reference and procedures for specifying, changing, and removing the reference. Note that a reference sequence in MegAlign Pro is different from a reference in SeqMan Ultra or SeqMan NGen. In SeqMan NGen or…

Part E: Compare output files

Features » Try it! – Map features » Part E: Compare output files

When the mapping initiated in Part D is finished, click the hyperlink to the output directory. Open both All features_map_features_1_report.tsv and CDS-RB features_map_features_1_report.tsv in any suitable spreadsheet…

Text view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Text view

To access the Text view, perform a BLAST search. When the search is complete, the Text, Table and Pairwise views are displayed together in a single popup window that is separate from the main MegAlign Pro window. To reopen all three views at a later time, click on the…

Export data from the Text, Table or Pairwise views

Export » Export data from the Text, Table or Pairwise views

The Export data tool ( ), located in the header above the Text, Table or Pairwise views, lets you export data from those views. This tool provides a choice of three options, one of which has four sub-options. Options include: Export Data > Matches…

Change the order of sequences

Sequences » Change the order of sequences

Whether preparing an image of a view for publication, or simply for ease of analysis, you may want to change the order of sequences in one or more views. For instance, you may wish to order the tree to create a pleasing image or to draw the viewer’s focus to a…

Search wizard: Job

Search for Sequences Online » Search for sequence matches (BLAST) » Search wizard: Job

The Job screen is the fourth of four screens in the BLAST Search wizard, This screen allows you to overwrite the default search name with a custom name and initiate the BLAST search. The text box contains an automatically-generated name for the search job. If you…

Part B: Navigate using the Overview

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a Clustal Omega alignment » Part B: Navigate using the Overview

Observe that the sequence blocks in the Overview are now the same lengths. Sequence gaps are represented by gray coloring within the blocks. The light blue vertical column shown at the left of the green blocks, above, is a "viewport" showing which region is…

Try it! – Determine the strain of an experimental viral genome sample

Phylogenetic Trees » Try it! – Determine the strain of an experimental viral genome sample

In this tutorial, you will use MegAlign Pro to compare an experimental SARS-CoV-2 sample to references sequences from four SARS-CoV-2 strains in order to see which strain is present in the sample. This type of analysis can be used with any viral genome samples that…

Search for Sequences Online

This application lets you search National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases for matches to text or sequence that you specify. Query part or all of a nucleotide or protein sequence against one of NCBI’s sequence databases using the Basic…

Part A: Add genomic sequences using drag & drop

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a genomic alignment with Mauve » Part A: Add genomic sequences using drag & drop

If you have not yet downloaded and extracted the tutorial data, click here to download it. Then decompress (unzip) the file archive using the method of your choice. If a MegAlign Pro project is already open, choose File > New Alignment Project. Otherwise, launch…

Details panel

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Details panel

The Details panel shows details of the application, selection or project. To open the Details panel: This panel is represented by a blue “information” icon (). If the panel is not already visible, reveal it using any of the following methods: Choose View >…

Numeric tracks

Tracks » Numeric tracks

A numeric track displays a plot of values along one or more sequences in the project. To display numeric tracks: The visibility of numeric tracks in the Sequences view is dependent on: The origin of the project. For example, the Model ‘n’ Cα Distances…

Multiple alignment methods and options

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Multiple alignment methods and options

MegAlign Pro offers both gene-level and genome-level multiple alignment algorithms. Gene-level alignment of either protein or nucleotide sequences: In general, the three gene-level aligners have higher accuracy than the genome-level (Mauve) aligner. They offer…

Navigate between projects

Create or Open a Project » Navigate between projects

You can open multiple projects within a single instance of MegAlign Pro. Each project is displayed in a separate tab and is initially assigned a unique name (Untitled[#].msa). To make a project the active project: Click on its project tab. To open an additional…

Work with multiple trees

Phylogenetic Trees » Work with multiple trees

What are dynamic trees and how do they differ from “snapshots?”: MegAlign Pro allows you to compare multiple phylogenetic trees generated using custom settings. The phylogenetic algorithm you choose dictates which customizations affect the tree and whether…

Export a tree to a tree viewer

Export » Export a tree to a tree viewer

To export a phylogenetic tree to a file: Use File > Export Data > Tree to export tree data in Newick (.newick) or Nexus (.nex, .nxs) formats . The saved file can be opened by several free and commercial evolutionary biology software programs. To set the default…

Part A: Add, rename and align sequences

Features » Try it! – Map features » Part A: Add, rename and align sequences

Before mapping features in MegAlign Pro, you first need to add and align the sequences. If you have not yet downloaded and extracted the tutorial data, click here to download it. Then decompress (unzip) the file archive using the method of your choice. If a…

Match Bar track

Tracks » Match Bar track

To display the Match Bar track: The Match Bar track is used to show similarities and differences between the query and target sequences. This track is available in the Pairwise view only after performing a pairwise alignment. The visibility of this track in the…

Tracks

“Tracks” are rows of information that can be displayed or hidden, as desired, in the Overview and Sequences view. Tracks can pertain to a header, footer, or individual sequence row. The following video provides a brief overview of how tracks are used in…

Translation track

Tracks » Translation track

To display the Translation track: Translation tracks in the Sequences view are available only for nucleotide (DNA) sequences, and are dependent on: Whether or not tracks are visible in the Sequences view. To display tracks, click on the plus sign next to the…

Part D: View the phylogenetic tree

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a genomic alignment with Mauve » Part D: View the phylogenetic tree

*Note: The images in this section show examples of how the trees might appear. Your trees may have different arrangements or different branch lengths from the ones shown. The current names of each sequence originated from the accession numbers that were embedded in…

Add only sequences that meet filtering thresholds

Sequences » Add only sequences that meet filtering thresholds

You can specify a group of sequences to add and then use filtering options to only add a subset of those to the project. To add only sequences that meet filtering thresholds: Open the filter dialog by doing any of the following: From the Welcome screen, select New…

Trees section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Explorer panel » Trees section

The Trees section of the Explorer panel is used to control which phylogenetic tree is displayed in the Tree view, and allows you to create additional trees or delete them. *Note: If you are instead seeking information on the Tree section of the Style panel, click…

Gap Fraction track

Tracks » Gap Fraction track

To display the Gap Fraction track: Gap Fraction is a graph track with a scale of 0-1 that shows the proportion of gapped positions in a sliding window centered on each position. The availability of a Gap Fraction track in the Sequences view or Pairwise view is…

Favorites section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Places panel » Favorites section

The Favorites section is similar to the bookmarks folder for a web browser. It contains a list of previously-visited locations that you have decided you may wish to visit again. To access the Favorites section: Click on the Places panel expand bar entitled…

Options screen

Features » Map features (copy features to another sequence) » Options screen

The Options screen is the second wizard screen of the Map Features dialog, and lets you specify mapping options. Mapping – Use the text boxes or sliders to specify percent cutoffs for: Minimum feature coverage, where: Minimum sequence…

Sequence Logo track

Tracks » Sequence Logo track

To display the Sequence Logo track: To display or hide the Sequence Logo track in the Sequences view footer, perform an alignment and then check or uncheck the Sequence Logo box in the Tracks panel. This box is only visible after performing an alignment. How…

GC Content track

Tracks » GC Content track

To display the GC Content track: GC Content is a graph track with a scale from 0-100 showing the proportional amount of G or C residues in a sliding window of user-defined width. The visibility of GC Content tracks in the Sequences view is available only for…

Tracks panel

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Tracks panel

The Tracks panel lets you manage the tracks displayed in the Overview and the Sequences view. To open the Tracks panel: Click on the Tracks tab (). If the panel is not already visible, reveal it using any of the following methods: Choose View > Tracks > Tracks…

Variants view

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Variants view

To see the Variants view, you must first perform a multiple alignment. When the alignment is complete, the Variants view opens showing a Compute Variants button. Click the button to calculate the variants. If you have specified a reference sequence, variants are…

Part B: Map a single feature

Features » Try it! – Map features » Part B: Map a single feature

In this part of the tutorial, you will map a single selected feature from the source sequence to the target sequence. In order to choose the appropriate mapping command, you will need to know where the source and target sequences appear in relation to one another in…

Console panel

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Console panel

The Console panel displays information, messages and warnings about the operation in progress, or an operation that was recently performed. To display the console for a particular project: Click the tab with the project name, then open its console using the View >…

Try It! – Follow a multiple alignment with Global pairwise alignments

Perform a Pairwise Alignment » Try It! – Follow a multiple alignment with Global pairwise alignments

This tutorial demonstrates a situation in which a pairwise alignment can help resolve a confusing placement of gaps within a multiple alignment. In this case, a multiple protein sequence alignment suggests that the protein sequence from a specific organism (Tupaia…

Pairwise Alignment section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Style panel » Pairwise Alignment section

To access options affecting the display of pairwise alignments in the Pairwise view, click on the Style panel expand bar entitled Pairwise Alignment, or choose View > Style > Pairwise Alignment. Task How To Specify the wrapping style for rows…

Output files

Features » Map features (copy features to another sequence) » Output files

After running the Map Features step, the output consists of several files. File Name Notes PROJECT_map_features_console.txt Copy of the text that appeared for this mapping in the Console side panel in the MegAlign Pro user interface.…

Rename sequences automatically using specified data fields

Sequences » Rename sequences automatically using specified data fields

The following procedure lets you create labels for one or more selected sequences automatically, using specified fields such as sequence length, organism, or description. To rename sequences using specified data fields: Select one or more sequence names from any…

Choosing a pairwise alignment method

Perform a Pairwise Alignment » Choosing a pairwise alignment method

When you initiate a pairwise alignment, you are prompted to select one of three alignment algorithms: Local, Global and Semi-Global. These algorithms are quite similar, although they can often produce very different results. All use a method called dynamic programming…

Distance metric options

MegAlign Pro Interface » Views » Distance view » Distance metric options

To change the distance metric used to generate the Distance view table, click the Change Analysis Parameters tool ( ) in the Distance view. This opens the Analysis Options dialog where you can specify the Metric and Gap Treatment. Another way to access the same dialog…

Multiple Alignment section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Style panel » Multiple Alignment section

To access options affecting the display of multiple alignments in the Sequences view, click on the Style panel expand bar entitled Multiple Alignment, or choose View > Style > Multiple Alignment. Task How To Designate the sequence you want…

Search wizard: Query

Search for Sequences Online » Search for sequence matches (BLAST) » Search wizard: Query

The Query screen is the first of four screens in the BLAST Search wizard. The Query screen is where you add the query sequence, i.e., the sequence for which you wish to locate matches in the NCBI BLAST database. At the top of the screen, next to “Search…

Part B: Perform a Mauve alignment using modified parameters

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a genomic alignment with Mauve » Part B: Perform a Mauve alignment using modified parameters

In this part of the tutorial, you will explore how to view and change parameters prior to performing a multiple sequence alignment. Choose Align > Align Using Mauve and align the sequences using the default parameters. Because this is a genomic alignment, the…

Search wizard: Options

Search for Sequences Online » Search for sequence matches (BLAST) » Search wizard: Options

The Options screen is the third of four screens in the BLAST Search wizard, and has two tabs: Selection and Matches. These tabs allow you to customize miscellaneous parameters relating to the BLAST search. Click the Selection tab to make it active. In the…

Notes regarding multiple alignments

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Perform an initial multiple alignment » Notes regarding multiple alignments

When performing a multiple alignment, take the following tips into consideration. Sequence order matters: The order in which sequences appear in the Overview and Sequences view may affect the results of the multiple sequence alignment. If you are not satisfied with…

Customize the appearance and layout of views

Customize the Look and Layout » Customize the appearance and layout of views

The following table lists ways in which you can customize the appearance and layout of views. Task How to… Show a view Use View > (View Name) > Show. Change the style (fonts, colors, calculation metrics and more) Use…

Part C: View a genomic alignment in the Overview

Perform a Multiple Alignment » Try it! – Perform a genomic alignment with Mauve » Part C: View a genomic alignment in the Overview

Once the alignment has finished, notice how the Overview has changed in response to the parameter change, including changes to the colors of the blocks, and differences in which blocks are hanging below the line (i.e., on the opposite strand). Locate the…

Overview section

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Style panel » Overview section

To access options affecting the Overview display, click on the Style panel expand bar entitled Overview, or choose View > Style > Overview. Task How to… Increase/decrease the amount of vertical space between sequence blocks Use the…

Trim an individual sequence

Sequences » Trim an individual sequence

Individual sequences in the project can be trimmed before or after alignment based on features or by direct selection. This is different from trimming the entire alignment, which affects all sequences in the project. To trim an individual sequence before or after…

Jobs panel

MegAlign Pro Interface » Panels » Jobs panel

After initiating an NCBI BLAST or Entrez search, you can monitor its progress and download its eventual output from the Jobs panel. This panel is not visible in a project until you have started running at least one search. To open the Jobs panel: Do any of the…

MegAlign Pro Interface

The following table describes components of the MegAlign Pro user interface, along with links to more in-depth information about each item: Item Description Menus The MegAlign Pro menus are: MegAlign Pro (available only on Macintosh),…

Perform a Pairwise Alignment

This application supports local, global, semi-global, and chromosome-based pairwise alignment methods. Pairwise alignments can only be performed when two sequences, and only two sequences, have been selected. A common workflow is to first perform a multiple alignment…

Consensus Match track

Tracks » Consensus Match track

To display the Consensus Match: To display or hide the Consensus Match track in the Sequences view footer, perform an alignment and then check or uncheck the Consensus Match box in the Tracks panel. This box is only visible after performing an alignment. How…