A Beginner’s Guide to Global vs Local Sequence Alignment

What’s the actual difference between global and local alignment in bioinformatics? If you’re new to sequence analysis, LLRI’s beginner-friendly blog walks you through both types in detail. It starts with the basics—what alignment means, why it's used, and how the two methods differ in purpose and output. You'll learn that global alignment compares sequences from start to end, ideal for similar-length sequences. In contrast, local alignment zooms into segments with high similarity, useful for comparing genes from different organisms. With step-by-step explanations, examples, and tools like BLAST and ClustalW, this article helps you choose the right alignment method. Perfect for bioinformatics learners and researchers.