BIOINFORMATICS TOOLS FOR THE STUDY OF MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

Although computers are capable of storing a huge amount of data, there is a need for more sophisticated software to assemble and organize ra w data into useful information for dissemination. Therefore we develop ed tools that assist in gathering and categorizing data for the study of microbial diversity and systematics. The first tool is for data ret rieval from heterogeneous data sources on the INTERNET. The second too l provides researchers with a polyphasic view of microbes based on phe notypic characteristics and molecular sequence data.