Bioinformatics data profiling tools: a prelude to metabolic profiling

The term metabolic profiling is often used to denote the systematic characterization of the unique biochemical trails or fingerprints left behind by cellular processes. Advances in computational biosciences are often invaluable in dealing with the huge amount of raw data generated from the countless biochemical intermediates that flood the cell at any given time. As a prelude to metabolic profiling, it is essential to completely profile and compile all related information about the genetic and proteomic data. Profiling tools in bioinformatics refer to all those software (web based and downloadable) that compile all related information in single user-interfaces. Generally, these interfaces take a query such as a DNA, RNA, or protein sequence or keyword; and search one or more databases for information related to that sequence. Summaries and aggregate results are provided in a single standardized format that would otherwise have required visits to many smaller sites or direct literature searches to compile. In other words they are software portals or gateways that simplify the process of finding information about a query in the large and growing number of bioinformatics databases.