Pattern rules: -------------- case insensitive [] variable residues are surrounded by squared brakets . a completely variable residue + one or more residues, e.g. S+ for consecutive serines * zero or more residues {a,b} repeated between a and b times (or any if b non-specified) | separate variants of a pattern () subsequences; above modifiers applies, e.g. (ATGC){3,3} will search ATCG repeated 3 times ^ restrict to the beginning of a sequence $ restrict to the end of a sequence Example: atg(...)+(tag|taa|tga) will find ORFs! [GC]{10,} for finding stretches of 10 or more G or C.