by
Katia S. GuimaraesKatia S. Guimaraes

This volume contains the papers that were selected to be presented at the 4th Brazilian Symposium on Bioinformatics, BSB 2009, which took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on August 29-31, 2009. The BSB symposium’s origin is in the Brazilian Conference on Bioinformatics (CB). WOB had three different editions: 2002 (Gramado, RS), 2003 (Macaé, RJ), and 2004 (Brasília, DF). The transition from the designation of wo- shops to symposiums reflects the enhancement of the quality of the contributions as well as the desire of the scientific community to attend the meetings. The previous editions of BSB were held in São Leopoldo, RS, in 2005, in Angra dos Reis, RJ, in 2007, and in Santo André, SP, in 2008. As evidence of the international nature of the event, BSB 2009 had 55 submissions from seven different countries. Of the 55 submissions, 36 were complete papers, with a maximum of 12 pages in each, and 19 were extended abstracts, with a maximum of 4 pages in each. The submissions were carefully evaluated and selected by a international committee of experts that comprised three chairs and 45 members from around the world. Additionally, 21 additional reviewers were employed to assist the committee in its selection. The Program Committee Chairs appreciate the – writers of all submissions, especially the Program Committee members and the additional reviewers, who participated in the selection of the 12 full papers and the 6 extended abstracts that comprise this volume.