Uptake Signal
Sequences in Bacterial DNA
Contact:
Dr Jonathan Rowe
School of Computer Science
The University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Email: informatics-crn-enquiries[at]cs.bham.ac.uk
School of Computer Science Website: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/
Link to Journal Article:
Evaluation of the current models for the evolution of bacterial DNA
uptake signal sequences
The availability of
high performance computers allows us now to create detailed artificial
worlds in-silico. These computational worlds can then be explored. Understanding
virtual worlds can be of scientific merit if the computational system
bears some crucial similarities with a particularly real system. Simulations
can then serve as replacements for real systems.
One example of a scientific
problem that could be usefully solved using the virtual worlds is the
question of the emergence of uptake signal sequences in bacteria. Uptake
signal sequences are conspicuous patterns discovered on the DNA of various
bacterial species. Biologists have been looking for an explanation of
how those patterns arose during evolution, but have so far not been able
to come up with a convincing argument that would decide between the various
suggested hypotheses.
Using extensive computational
simulations it is possible to contribute to the ongoing debate by clarifying
the hypothesis formulated by biologists identifying a set of variables
that are crucial for the various scenarios, ruling out scenarios that
will not lead to uptake signal sequences.
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