Summary of "A General Method Applicable to the Search for Similarities in the Amino Acid Sequence of Two Proteins" by Saul B. Needleman and Christian D. Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48, 443-453 (1970)
Background
Protein sequences just beginning to be determined (primarily by Edman degradation). DNA sequences still not available. As the sequences for a protein (e.g., ribonuclease, hemoglobin, myoglobin) from many species became available, methods for measuring the degree of similarity between two protein sequences became necessary.
Significance
Previous sequence comparison was done by eye. The method described can be used as an aid in constructing phylogenetic trees by giving an estimate of distance between sequences. Computerized methods for comparing sequences will become crucial to the molecular biology revolution. This paper is the first application of dynamic programming (dynamic planning) methods to biological sequences.
Aims
Results
The maximum match scores obtained for comparison of
b-hemoglobin and myoglobin indicate that the sequences of the proteins are related in a statistically significant manner.R.F. Murphy, May 27, 1999