Parallel computation of multiple biological sequence comparisons

A parallel implementation of an efficient method for comparison of multiple DNA sequences is presented. The method is described in terms of a conceptual tree data structure for the sequences to be compared. The parallel algorithm shows efficient utilization of processors on an Encore Multimax computer in a sample comparison of 11 sequences totaling over 4000 bases. Timing data show the strong influence of computer system details on this parallel program. Also presented is a graphics program for displaying multiple sequence comparison output data. The display is capable of representing large volumes of multiple sequence comparison data in a single plot. The program has several additional features that allow closer examination of subsets of sequences. A display of matches from the sample comparison reflects the known structure of these sequences.