Evolution of multiple alignments

The book "Evolution of Multiple Alignments" by Julie Dawn Thompson offers a comprehensive analysis of developments in the field of bioinformatics, particularly regarding multiple sequence alignments. In an era where genomic and proteomic technologies are causing a paradigm shift in bioinformatics, the need for an integrated perspective on data analysis becomes evident. The work highlights the importance of multiple sequence alignments as a tool for the reliable integration of information ranging from complete genomes to specific genes and their products. Three essential developments are presented: a benchmark for the objective evaluation of alignments, an ontology for multiple alignments of nucleic acids or proteins, and an information management system that leverages the advantages of this ontology. This work is central to bioinformatics and is aimed at researchers in various fields, including genome analysis, structural proteomics, and the study of genetic diseases.