New algorithms for Luria-Delbrück fluctuation analysis
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A and M University System Health Science Center, Bryan, TX 72802, USA. qzheng@srph.tamhsc.edu
Abstract:
Fluctuation analysis is the most widely used approach in estimating microbial mutation rates. Development of methods for point and interval estimation of mutation rates has long been hampered by lack of closed form expressions for the probability mass function of the number of mutants in a parallel culture. This paper uses sequence convolution to derive exact algorithms for computing the score function and observed Fisher information, leading to efficient computation of maximum likelihood estimates and profile likelihood based confidence intervals for the expected number of mutations occurring in a test tube. These algorithms and their implementation in SALVADOR 2.0 facilitate routine use of modern statistical techniques in fluctuation analysis by biologists engaged in mutation research.
Related Concept Videos
Calculation of First-Law Quantities II
Region of Convergence of Laplace Tarnsform
Consider a decaying exponential signal that begins at a specific time. When deriving its Laplace transform, the time-domain variable is replaced with a complex variable. This substitution...
One-Compartment Open Model: Wagner-Nelson and Loo Riegelman Method for ka Estimation
On...
Linear Approximation in Frequency Domain
In contrast, nonlinear systems do not inherently possess these properties. However, for small deviations around an operating point, a nonlinear system can often be approximated as linear.
Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error
Linear Approximation in Time Domain
For a simple pendulum with a mass evenly distributed along its length and the center of mass located at half the pendulum's length, the...

