Some new approaches towards analyzing genome sequences

Abstract

DNA is usually presumed to be the critical macromolecular target for carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. To predict sequence changes induced by different agents, it is imperative to have quantitative measures to compare and contrast the different DNA sequences. In addition, the very rapid rise in available DNA sequence data has also made the problem more emerging and interesting too. This is why over the last few years several authors have presented various methods to assign mathematical descriptors to DNA sequences in order to quantitatively compare the sequences and determine similarities and dissimilarities amongst them. Main difficulties crop up as the sequences are very long and are of unequal lengths too. These make the problem of comparison more complex. Again as the methods are different and there are many such methods, so it becomes necessary to compare these methods and determine which one(s), if any, is best in characterizing DNA sequences. If not, better numerical representation and characterization are to be developed. The aim of the present thesis is to critically analyse the roles of different methods of DNA sequence comparison, which are normally used and to modify them accordingly so that better characterization of DNA sequences may be achieved.