Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1985 Jan 25;13(2):645-56.
doi: 10.1093/nar/13.2.645.

The statistical distribution of nucleic acid similarities

T F Smith, M S Waterman, C Burks
Free PMC article
Comparative Study

The statistical distribution of nucleic acid similarities

T F Smith et al. Nucleic Acids Res. .
Free PMC article

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Nature. 1981 May 14;291(5811):127-31 - PubMed
    1. Cell. 1980 Jul;20(3):625-37 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1983 Jan 20;301(5897):194 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1977 Dec 8;270(5637):486-94 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Feb;77(2):919-23 - PubMed

Publication types