USING A WORLD-WIDE-WEB SERVER AS A LOCAL ORGANIZER FOR PROTEIN AND DNA-SEQUENCES

We have used a local World Wide Web (WWW) server to organize protein a nd DNA sequences that are used frequently in our laboratory. WWW serve r programs are available for most computer platforms and are easily se t up with minimal computer skills. This approach allows for the easy r etrieval of sequence data, which can then be used as input for other a nalysis programs. This format is especially simple to use in conjuncti on with WWW database searches. The sequence files may be served to the ''public'' Internet or kept private by requiring a password for acces s. Other advantages are (i) sequences can be accessed from multiple co mputer platforms using the appropriate WWW-browser; (ii) files can be accessed remotely from any computer on the Internet; (iii) only a sing le sequence format is used, simplifying the updating and archiving of data; and (iv) links to remote files can also be served in addition to local files.