DNA as a language

Conference · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:37526

Trifonov, E N ^[1]

---

1. Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot (Israel). Dept. of Structural Biology

The classical triplet code is not the, only code carried by the sequences. They contain, for example, the gene-splicing code, transcription codes and many other codes. By analyzing a large volume of the nucleotide sequences available, i.e., by performing various computer experiments with the sequences, one can decipher them and extract from them valuable biological information. At the DNA level there are at least two more codes -- the DNA shape code and the chromatin code. The overall DNA shape is sequence-dependent and can be described by a set of angles characteristic for various dinucleotide elements -- codons of the DNA shape code. The chromatin code provides instructions for histone obtainers where along the DNA to form the nucleosomes. This code is expressed as positional periodicity of, primarily, AA and TT dinucleotides. A new RNA code has been described -- the translation framing code. The frame seems to be maintained by a synchronizing pattern GCUGCUGCU... hidden in mRNA. Most enigmatic of all is, perhaps, the gene-splicing code. An interesting recent development indicates that the gene-splicing pattern in the sequences and the nucleosomal pattern have some common features. This has to do with superposition of the patterns that is characteristic for the sequence language in general which carries simultaneously many codes in one and the same text.

• OSTI ID: 37526
• Report Number(s): CONF-9206273--; ISBN 981-02-1157-0
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
DNA
DNA SEQUENCING
INTRONS
NUCLEOTIDES
PATTERN RECOGNITION