Is a genome a codeword of an error-correcting code?
Since a genome is a discrete sequence, the elements of which belong to a set of four letters, the question as to whether or not there is an error-correcting code underlying DNA sequences is unavoidable. The most common approach to answering this question is to propose a methodology to verify the existence of such a code. However, none of the methodologies proposed so far, although quite clever, has achieved that goal. In a recent work, we showed that DNA sequences can be identified as codewords in a class of cyclic error-correcting codes known as Hamming codes. In this paper, we show that a complete intron-exon gene, and even a plasmid genome, can be identified as a Hamming code codeword as well. Although this does not constitute a definitive proof that there is an error-correcting code underlying DNA sequences, it is the first evidence in this direction.
Departamento de Telemática, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. luzinete@dt.fee.unicamp.br
Luzinete C B
LC
Faria
Andréa S L
AS
Rocha
João H
JH
Kleinschmidt
Márcio C
MC
Silva-Filho
Edson
E
Bim
Roberto H
RH
Herai
Michel E B
ME
Yamagishi
Reginaldo
R
Palazzo
D000465:Algorithms; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D013294:Lactococcus lactis / Q000235:genetics; D008957:Models, Genetic