Biotechnology and bioinformatics for managing data and create a standard language for all software, algorithms and organizations, try to create a simple, easy to use format called, FASTA.

Based on Wikipedia definition: In bioinformatics and biochemistry, the FASTA format is a text-based format for representing either nucleotide sequences or amino acid (protein) sequences, in which nucleotide or amino acids are represented using single-letter codes. The format also allows for sequence names and comments to precede the sequences.;

What does FASTA Mean?

FASTA names come from : “fast-all” or “FastA”. It was used as the first database similarity search tool developed, preceding the development of BLAST. FASTA is another sequence alignment tool which is used to search similarities between sequences of DNA and proteins with similar data format.

What information a FASTA contain in itself?

A standard FASTA file is a text file with txt format that Each sequence begins with a single-line description, followed by lines of sequence data. The single-line description contains a greater-than (>) symbol in the first column, followed by the sequence name.

How to get a FASTA Sequence ?

As a bioinformatist or biotechnologist, When you start searching special gene or sequence you have access to download it as different formats that one of standards international format is FASTA and you can download sequence data and other data from the graphical viewer by accessing the Download menu on the toolbar in NCBI. You can download the FASTA formatted sequence of the visible range, all markers created on the sequence, or all selections made of the sequence.

How does FASTA Format files look like ?

A sequence in FASTA format begins with a single-line description, followed by lines of sequence data. The description line is distinguished from the sequence data by a greater-than (“>”) symbol in the first column. It is recommended that all lines of text be shorter than 80 characters in length.