How to read specific lines from a text file and store them in an array?

I have a text file containing an Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA) which has protein sequences stored in it. The contents of the file is like this:

>gi|73961569|ref|XP_547536.2| osteocalcin [C. lupus familiaris] MRSLMVLALLAVAALCLCLAGPADAKPSSAESRKGGATFVSKREGSEVVRRLRRYLDSGL GAPVPYPDPLEPKREVCELNPNCDELADHIGFQEAYQRFYGPV-

>gi|27806301|ref|NP_776674.1| osteocalcin preproprotein

MRTPMLLALLALAT--LCLAGRADAKPGDAESGK-GAAFVSKQEGSEVVKRLRRYLDHWL GAPAPYPDPLEPKREVCELNPDCDELADHIGFQEAYRRFYGPV-

From this file I just want to extract the lines containing the actual sequences (ones NOT starting with '>' symbol) and store them in an array for future use. One thing to mention is that line 2 and line 3 is one single sequence, so I also need to make them a single string and store it in one single position of an array. How can I do that?

I wanted to use 'fileread' but it reads all the file at a time, so it's not helpful.

[per isakson]

Delete one of my our two identical questions!