Use of Mutual Information Function and Power Spectra for Analyzing the Structure of Some Prokaryotic Genomes

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of using the Mutual Information function for analyzing the structure and correlations of DNA molecules is examined by comparing it to the well-known Time Series application of Power Spectra. Although computation of Power Spectra by using Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) is an efficient way of revealing the frequencies that are characteristic of the system and hence the structure, Mutual Information function is better at revealing hidden periodicities and can be used to analyze the structure and correlations at large base separations. Two genomes from Archaea: Sulfolobus_solfataricus and Sulfolobus_tokodaii and two genomes from Eubacteria: Agrobacterium_tumefaciens and Sinorhizobium_meliloti were chosen for analysis.

Key Words and Phrases:

• Mutual Information
• correlation
• Power Spectrum
• hidden periodicities
• DNA molecule
• Prokaryotic genomes