MC64: A web platform to test bioinformatics algorithms in a many-core architecture

Abstract

New analytical methodologies, like the so-called "next-generation sequencing" (NGS), allow the sequencing of full genomes with high speed and reduced price. Yet, such technologies generate huge amounts of data that demand large raw computational power. Many-core technologies can be exploited to overcome the involved bioinformatics bottleneck. Indeed, such hardware is currently in active development. We have developed parallel bioinformatics algorithms for many-core microprocessors containing 64 cores each. Thus, the MC64 web platform allows executing high-performance alignments (Needleman-Wunsch, Smith-Waterman and ClustalW) of long sequences. The MC64 platform can be accessed via web browsers, allowing easy resource integration into third-party tools. Furthermore, the results obtained from the MC64 include time-performance statistics that can be compared with other platforms. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.