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Related Experiment Videos

Why are complementary DNA strands symmetric?

Pierre-François Baisnée1, Steve Hampson, Pierre Baldi

  • 1Department of Information and Computer Science, Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, University of California, Irvine 92697-3425, USA. baisnee@ics.uci.edu

Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)
|August 15, 2002
PubMed
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This study reveals that reverse-complement symmetry in genomes is a widespread phenomenon, extending beyond simple base composition to higher-order oligonucleotide patterns across diverse life forms. This symmetry arises from multiple evolutionary mechanisms, not a single cause.

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Complementary DNA strands exhibit similar base composition over long sequences.
  • Previous studies suggested higher-order oligonucleotide symmetry, but lacked comprehensive analysis across life.
  • The origin of reverse-complement symmetry remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop methods for measuring and characterizing multi-order reverse-complement symmetry.
  • To investigate the prevalence and nature of this symmetry across a wide range of genomes.
  • To elucidate the underlying evolutionary mechanisms driving reverse-complement symmetry.

Main Methods:

  • Developed novel methods to quantify symmetry at orders 1-9.
  • Analyzed diverse genomes: DNA/RNA viruses, bacteria, archaea, mitochondria, eukaryota.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Compared observed symmetry to statistical models, accounting for lower-order effects.

    • Main Results:

    • Established the universality and variability of first-order and higher-order strand symmetry.
    • Demonstrated genuine high-order symmetric constraints in genomic sequences.
    • Quantified symmetry in contiguous sequences and upstream regions (coding/non-coding).

    Conclusions:

    • Reverse-complement symmetry is a ubiquitous feature across the tree of life.
    • This symmetry is not attributable to a single evolutionary process.
    • It emerges from a complex interplay of multiple mechanisms operating at various scales.