Quantifying similarity between motifs
2007

Tomtom: A Tool for Comparing Motifs

publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Shobhit Gupta, John A. Stamatoyannopoulos, Timothy L. Bailey, William Stafford Noble

Primary Institution: University of Washington

Hypothesis

Can a statistical measure of motif similarity be defined to compare newly discovered motifs with existing ones?

Conclusion

Tomtom effectively quantifies motif similarity and improves the accuracy of motif retrieval in databases.

Supporting Evidence

  • Tomtom allows for statistical measurement of similarity between pairs of motifs.
  • The algorithm can compute E values based on various column comparison functions.
  • Tomtom's P value estimation yields improved rankings for motif similarity.

Takeaway

Tomtom is a computer program that helps scientists find out if a new DNA or protein pattern is similar to ones already known.

Methodology

The study describes an algorithm called Tomtom that uses statistical measures to compare motifs and assess their similarity.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/gb-2007-8-2-r24

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