Desktop BioLegato Applications for Easy NCBI Keyword Queries and BLAST Searches

BioLegato is a programmable graphic interface, leveraging object-oriented concepts to rapidly create desktop tools that are intuitive because they resemble real-world objects. We now present an integrated set of BioLegato tools for searching NCBI databases that overcome many of the limitations inherent in web-based interfaces. BioLegato promotes exploration of data through point-and-click pipelining. Output from each step, such as sequences or search results,  appears in a new BioLegato tool, with methods appropriate for the output.  To illustrate, complex NCBI keyword queries are done using a form-based query builder, and query results returned in a BioLegato spreadsheet making it easier to sift through large numbers of hits and to refine the query. Sequences that match search criteria are retrieved directly from the spreadsheet to BioLegato sequence tools. BLAST searches can be launched from BioLegato sequence tools, and results returned to BioLegato spreadsheets for direct retrieval of sequences.  We also include automated tools for downloading and configuring local copies of NCBI BLAST databases. Even on modest computer systems, local BLAST searches  return results quickly by avoiding the waiting time in NCBI BLAST queues.  BioLegato is part of the Open-Source BIRCH Bioinformatics system, found at http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~psgendb.