HMMER web server: 2026 update

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Authors: Aleksandar Rajković, Martín Beracochea, Alexander B. Rogers, Sean R. Eddy, Nicholas P Carter, ROBERT FINN
Cited by: 5
References: 31

Abstract

The HMMER web server, available at https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/hmmer, provides online access to tools from the HMMER software suite (http://hmmer.org/) for protein analysis using profile hidden Markov models. Users can perform sequence similarity searches against a range of regularly updated protein sequence databases or annotate protein sequences with domains and families using profile HMM libraries from protein family databases. Since the 2018 update, the continued exponential growth of sequence databases has necessitated substantial infrastructural improvements to maintain search performance speed and service reliability. To achieve this, the web interface has been completely reengineered using modern web technologies (JavaScript and React), providing users with an enhanced experience, including session-based search history and streamlined results visualization. The web application programming interface has been rewritten to better support programmatic access with updated endpoints and JSON-based responses. The infrastructure has been redesigned to efficiently handle searches against much larger databases through horizontal scaling and asynchronous job processing. Target database offerings have been updated to reflect current usage patterns and data availability. The HMMER web server is free and open to all users, and there is no login requirement.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications Machine Learning in Bioinformatics Protein Structure and Dynamics

Publication details

Journal / source
Nucleic Acids Research
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Volume
54
Issue
W1
Pages
W272–W278
Publication date
15 April 2026
Language
EN