In the context of the BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) program, the term "query" refers to the sequence or set of sequences that a user wants to search against a database. The query can be a nucleotide sequence (DNA or RNA) or a protein sequence. When a user submits a query to BLAST, the program compares it to the sequences in its database to find regions of similarity, thereby identifying potential homologous sequences or similar functional domains. The results provide insights into evolutionary relationships, possible functions of the query sequence, and related biological information.
What does the term "query" refer to when using the program BLAST?
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