diff --git a/modules/io/doc/formats.rst b/modules/io/doc/formats.rst
index ceef7e5f25111f28e50c66a966fdacf6d621bc61..91a9f029cd76be709b5fd29a3a3d1ec807b23bfd 100644
--- a/modules/io/doc/formats.rst
+++ b/modules/io/doc/formats.rst
@@ -7,12 +7,24 @@ Structure File Formats
 The following file formats are supported by :func:`~ost.io.LoadEntity`. 
 
 
-  
+
+CRD - CARD format file used by CHARMM
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+This trajectory file format is used by the CHARMM program suite (Molecular Modelling).
+*Recognized File Extensions*
+  crd
+
+MAE - Maestro coordinate file format (used by Schroedinger Inc.)
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+File format by the popular Maestro package.
+*Recognized File Extensions*
+  mae
+
 PDB - Brookhaven PDB File
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Fine grained control over PDB file import is available via the 
-:func:`~ost.io.LoadPDB` function. The PDB importer support loading gzipped PDB 
-files. gzipped PDB files are detected by the .gz file extension.
+:func:`~ost.io.LoadPDB` function. The PDB importer supports loading gzipped PDB 
+files, which are auto-detected by the .gz file extension.
 
 *Recognized File Extensions*
   ent, pdb, ent.gz, pdb.gz
@@ -28,12 +40,6 @@ PQR
 
 *Format Name*
   pqr
-
-CRD - CARD format file used by CHARMM
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-*Recognized File Extensions*
-  crd
   
 SDF
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
@@ -78,4 +84,4 @@ PIR
   pir
   
 *Format Name*
-  pir
\ No newline at end of file
+  pir
diff --git a/modules/io/doc/io.rst b/modules/io/doc/io.rst
index 21c38bc4f93f2ce10b4357004c9c688f310a178a..33258a6a2045868c717eb32e6f0967122905d854 100644
--- a/modules/io/doc/io.rst
+++ b/modules/io/doc/io.rst
@@ -2,12 +2,9 @@
 ================================================================================
 
 .. module:: ost.io
-  :synopsis: Input and output of sequences, structures and density maps
+  :synopsis: Input and output of sequences, alignments, structures, images and density maps.
 
-The io module deals with input and output of :class:`entities 
-<ost.mol.EntityHandle>`, :class:`alignments <ost.seq.AlignmentHandle>`, and
-:class:`images <ost.img.ImageHandle>`. Importers for common file formats such 
-as PDB, SDF, FASTA, CLUSTAL W, DX and CHARMM trajectory files are available. 
+The io module deals with input and output of :class:`entities <ost.mol.EntityHandle>`, :class:`alignments <ost.seq.AlignmentHandle>`, :class:`sequences <ost.seq.SequenceHandle>`, :class:`images <ost.img.ImageHandle>`. Importers for common file formats containing molecules such as PDB, SDF and CHARMM trajectory files are available. Sequence and alignment file formats such as FASTA and CLUSTALW are supported as well, alongside various image data (e.g. png, dm3) and density map files (e.g. CCP4, MRC). 
 
 Molecular Structures
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -100,4 +97,81 @@ file:
       
 .. autofunction:: ost.io.SavePDB
 
-  
\ No newline at end of file
+  
+Sequences and Alignments
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Loading sequence or alignment files
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+.. function:: LoadSequence(filename, format='auto')
+
+  Load sequence data from disk. If format is set to 'auto', the function guesses the 
+  filetype based on the extension of the file. Files ending in '.fasta', '.aln' will automatically be loaded.
+  For files with non-standard extensions, the format can be set explicitly specifying 
+  the 'format' parameter. 
+  
+  .. code-block:: python
+
+    # recognizes FASTA file by file extension
+    myseq=io.LoadSequence('seq.fasta')
+    # for obtaining a SequenceList
+    seqlist=io.LoadSequenceList('seqs.fasta')
+    # or for multiple aligned fasta files use
+    aln=io.LoadAlignment('algnm.aln',format="clustal")
+    
+For a list of file formats supported by :func:`LoadSequence` see :doc:`formats`.
+  
+  :raises: :exc:`~ost.io.IOUnknownFormatException` if the format string supplied 
+      is not recognized or the file format can not be detected based on the 
+      file extension
+      
+      :exc:`~ost.io.IOException` if the import fails due to an erroneous or 
+      inexistent file
+
+.. function:: LoadSequenceList(filename, format='auto')
+
+  For a desription of how to use :func:`LoadSequenceList` please refer to :func:`LoadSequence`.
+  For a list of file formats supported by :func:`LoadSequenceList` see :doc:`formats`.
+
+.. function:: LoadAlignment(filename, format='auto')
+
+  For a desription of how to use :func:`LoadAlignment` please refer to :func:`LoadSequence`.
+  For a list of file formats supported by :func:`LoadAlignment` see :doc:`formats`.
+      
+Saving Sequence Data
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. function:: SaveSequence(filename, format='auto')
+
+Saving sequence data is performed by calling :func:`SaveSequence`.
+For files with non-standard extensions, the format can be set explicitly specifying 
+the 'format' parameter. 
+  
+  .. code-block:: python
+
+    # recognizes FASTA file by file extension
+    io.SaveSequence(myseq,'seq.fasta')
+    # for saving a SequenceList
+    io.SaveSequenceList(seqlist,'seqlist.fasta')
+    # or multiple aligned fasta files
+    io.SaveAlignment(aln,'algnm.aln',format="clustal")
+    
+For a list of file formats supported by :func:`SaveSequence` see :doc:`formats`.
+  
+  :raises: :exc:`~ost.io.IOUnknownFormatException` if the format string supplied 
+      is not recognized or the file format can not be detected based on the 
+      file extension
+      
+      :exc:`~ost.io.IOException` if the import fails due to an erroneous or 
+      inexistent file
+
+.. function:: SaveSequenceList(filename, format='auto')
+
+  For a desription of how to use :func:`SaveSequenceList` please refer to :func:`SaveSequence`.
+  For a list of file formats supported by :func:`SaveSequenceList` see :doc:`formats`.
+
+.. function:: SaveAlignment(filename, format='auto')
+
+  For a desription of how to use :func:`SaveAlignment` please refer to :func:`SaveSequence`.
+  For a list of file formats supported by :func:`SaveAlignment` see :doc:`formats`.
+