Developing fixed-parameter algorithms to solve combinatorially explosive biological problems

Abstract

Fixed-parameter algorithms can efficiently find optimal solutions to some computationally hard (NP-hard) problems. This chapter surveys five main practical techniques to develop such algorithms. Each technique is circumstantiated by case studies of applications to biological problems. It also presents other known bioinformatics-related applications and gives pointers to experimental results. © 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.