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PMID: 3871073 Published · ppublish English Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

The statistical distribution of nucleic acid similarities.

Nucleic acids research ·Vol. 13 ·No. 2 ·1985-01-25 ·Pages 645-56

Smith TF, Waterman MS, Burks C

Abstract

All pairs of a large set of known vertebrate DNA sequences were searched by computer for most similar segments. Analysis of this data shows that the computed similarity scores are distributed proportionally to the logarithm of the product of the lengths of the sequences involved. This distribution is closely related to recent results of Erdos and others on the longest run of heads in coin tossing. A simple rule is derived for determination of statistical significance of the similarity scores and to assist in relating statistical and biological significance.

MeSH Terms
Base Sequence DNA/genetics Statistics as Topic
Chemicals
DNA
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Smith T F
Waterman M S
Burks C
References (30)
30 references, click to expand
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Article Info
Journal
Nucleic acids research
Abbr.
Nucleic Acids Res
ISSN
0305-1048
DOI
10.1093/nar/13.2.645
Published
1985-01-25
Pages
645-56
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0411011
PMCID
PMC341021
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · N01-GM-2-2127 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/nar/13.2.645 PMC Full Text View journal details
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