CENSOR (EBI)

CENSOR (EBI) identifies and masks known protein and nucleotide sequence repeats by screening query sequences against a curated reference collection to obscure homologous repetitive regions and produce classified repeat reports.

Key Features:

• Repeat Identification: Screens protein and nucleotide query sequences against a curated reference collection of known repeats to detect homologous repetitive regions.
• Masking Functionality: Applies designated masking symbols to homologous repeat regions to obscure repetitive elements within sequences.
• Reporting Capabilities: Generates detailed reports that classify and detail all identified repeats.
• EMBL-EBI Integration: Leverages integrated EMBL-EBI repeat reference collections and bioinformatics resources to support screening and reporting.

Scientific Applications:

• Genomics: Masks repetitive elements to improve analysis of unique regions in genomic sequences.
• Proteomics: Detects and masks protein sequence repeats to aid proteomic analyses.
• Comparative studies: Removes confounding repetitive regions to support comparative sequence analyses.
• Genetic variation research: Helps clarify variant interpretation by masking repeats that can confound analyses.
• Structural biology: Identifies and masks repeats that may affect structural interpretation of sequences.

Methodology:

CENSOR screens query sequences against a reference collection of known repeats, identifies homologous repeat regions, applies masking symbols to those regions, and produces classified repeat reports, supported by integrated EMBL-EBI bioinformatics resources.