= Sequence alignment
{wiki}
Sequence alignment is trying to match a <DNA> or <amino acid> sequence, even though the sequences might not be exactly the same, otherwise it would be a straight up <string-search algorithm>.
This is fundamental in <bioinformatics> for two reasons:
* when you <sequence the DNA> of a new <species>, you can guess what each <protein> does by comparing it with similar proteins in other species that you have already studied
* when doing <DNA sequencing>, and specially <short-read DNA sequencing>, you generally need to align the reads to reference genomes to know where you are inside the entire genome, and then be able to spot <mutations>, notably <single-nucleotide polymorphisms>