Abstract

The talk will survey a few topics around the problem of biological motif inference. This will cover some of the various models that have been used in general as well as the more specific questions that have been addressed by the (sometimes official and sometimes unofficial) group of persons that has been working with the speaker over the years and across continents. The talk will therefore sketch the algorithm(s) developed in the group, some of its past and current applications, specially as regards motifs involved with gene regulation, and a few closely related combinatorial issues. Open problems or topics that have just started to be addressed will then be indicated. This will give an idea of some of the group's other research activities related to gene finding, genome rearrangement analysis, identification of RNA structures and of biological network modules. The notion of "conserved motifs" pervades all such topics.