Identifying orthologs via computation

 Identifying orthologs via computation

A useful method of identifying orthologs is called in silico (computational matching). This utilizes sequence alignment (either nucleic acid or amino acid). (We will learn more about sequence alignments in the next section.)

Eventually, laboratory confirmation is needed to prove orthology; however, first identifying putative (potential) orthologs computationally (and eliminating clear paralogs) can greatly decrease the amount of validation work needed.

Large amounts of sequence data need to be available for all the organisms being analyzed.