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Comparing newly obtained and previously known nucleotide and amino-acid sequences underpins modern biological research. BLAST is a well-established tool for such comparisons but is challenging to use on new data sets. We combined a user-centric design philosophy with sustainable software development approaches to create Sequenceserver, a tool for running BLAST and visually inspecting BLAST results for biological interpretation. Sequenceserver uses simple algorithms to prevent potential analysis errors and provides flexible text-based and visual outputs to support researcher productivity. Our software can be rapidly installed for use by individuals or on shared servers.

28The dramatic drop in DNA sequencing costs has created many opportunities for novel biological research. These 29 opportunities largely rest upon the ability to effectively compare newly obtained and previously known sequences. 30This is commonly done with BLAST, yet using BLAST directly on new datasets requires substantial technical skills or 31 helpful colleagues. Furthermore, graphical interfaces for BLAST are challenging to install and largely mimic underlying 32 computational processes rather than work patterns of researchers. 33We combined a user-centric design philosophy with sustainable software development approaches to create Se-34 quenceserver (http://sequenceserver.com), a modern graphical user interface for BLAST. Sequenceserver sub-35 stantially increases the efficiency of researchers working with sequence data. This is due to innovations at three 36 levels. First, our software can be installed and used on custom datasets extremely rapidly for personal and shared

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