N4: a precise and highly sensitive promoter predictor using neural network fed by nearest neighbors.

Promoters, the genomic regions proximal to the transcriptional start sites (TSSs) play pivotal roles in determining the rate of transcription initiation by serving as direct docking platforms for the RNA polymerase II complex. In the post-genomic era, correct gene prediction has become one of the biggest challenges in genome annotation. Species-independent promoter prediction tools could also be useful in meta-genomics, since transcription data will not be available for micro-organisms which are not cultivated.