Signal-Theoretical DNA Similarity Measure Revealing Unexpected Similarities of E. coli Promoters

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Deyneko, Igor V.^; | Kel, Alexander E. | Blöcker, Helmut | Kauer, Gerhard^;

Affiliations: Department of Genome Analysis, GBF (German Research Centre for Biotechnology), D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany | Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia | BIOBASE GmbH, D-38300 Wolfenbüttel, Germany | University of Applied Sciences, D-26723 Emden, Germany

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: {ide, bloecker}@gbf.de

Abstract: We present an implementation of the signal theory-based approach for detection of novel types of DNA similarity which are based on physical properties of DNA. Systematic study of the sensitivity of the new similarity measure revealed qualitative differences to letter-based similarity. A variety of physical parameters of DNA double strands, which in a straightforward way reflect different kinds of information hidden behind the primary structure of DNA, showed a wide range of recognition power of the signal similarity measure. We applied the novel DNA similarity measure for the analysis of promoters of E. coli genes. We found that promoter similarities revealed by our approach correlate with their transcription regulatory responsivenesses to different antibiotic and osmotic treatments. Accelerated by special hardware for fast Fourier transformations, the method is easily applicable for the analysis of entire eukaryotic genomes in minutes.

Keywords: Signal theory, pattern recognition, promoter similarities, FeatureScan

Journal: In Silico Biology, vol. 5, no. 5-6, pp. 547-555, 2005