1. Selection of sub-groups of sequences within a multiple alignment for selecting residues by conservation. This would enable the easy selection/identification of residues that are specifically conserved within individual families with different functions or substrates - for example, a position that is an arginine, and always an arginine, in one subgroup of proteins that we know have a particular function, and always a glutamate in another group of proteins that we know possess a different but related function. It is possible to do this currently by loading in multiple different sequence alignments and saving and intersecting selections, but having a popup menu in the select/render by attribute tab where you could select or deselect sequences that contribute to the analysis of conservation would make it much easier.
Eric Pettersen
UCSF Computer Graphics Lab