Find the word ‘Program’. What kind of BLAST program did you run?

Question

a. blastn
b. blastp
c. blastx
d. tblastn
e. tblastx
6. Find the word ‘Database’. Choose ‘see details’ and read the popup description. Your query was
compared to a database. What kinds of molecules are in this database?
a. DNA molecules
b. RNA molecules
c. Proteins
7. What does the word ‘query’ mean in the context of BLAST?
a. A researcher’s input sequence
b. Sequences studied by other scientists
8. Find the word ‘Molecule’. This refers to your query. What type of molecule was your query?
a. DNA
b. RNA
c. Protein
9. What did the blastx program do with your query before it compared it to a database?
a. Converted your sequence to DNA
b. Converted your sequence to RNA
c. Converted your sequence to mRNA, and then determined the protein sequence that the
mRNA codes for.
10. Following up on the last question, what natural cellular process(es) does this mimic?
a. DNA replication
b. Transcription
c. Translation
d. Translation, then transcription
e. Transcription, then translation

Answer 1

Here are the answers to your questions regarding the BLAST program and its terminology:

1. Find the word ‘Program’. What kind of BLAST program did you run?

   • c. blastx (Since BLASTX translates the nucleotide query to protein and compares it to a protein database)

2. Find the word ‘Database’. Choose ‘see details’ and read the popup description. Your query was compared to a database. What kinds of molecules are in this database?

   • c. Proteins (BLASTX compares a nucleotide query against a protein database)

3. What does the word ‘query’ mean in the context of BLAST?

   • a. A researcher’s input sequence (In BLAST, the query is the sequence submitted for comparison)

4. Find the word ‘Molecule’. This refers to your query. What type of molecule was your query?

   • a. DNA (BLASTX is specifically for nucleotide sequences, implying the query is likely DNA)

5. What did the blastx program do with your query before it compared it to a database?

   • c. Converted your sequence to mRNA, and then determined the protein sequence that the mRNA codes for. (BLASTX translates the DNA sequence into all possible protein sequences)

6. Following up on the last question, what natural cellular process(es) does this mimic?

   • e. Transcription, then translation (This mimics the process of first transcribing DNA into mRNA and then translating that mRNA into protein)

Feel free to ask if you have more questions or need further clarification!