bz-rates: A Web Tool to Estimate Mutation Rates from Fluctuation Analysis.
Fluctuation analysis is the standard experimental method for measuring mutation rates in micro-organisms. The appearance of mutants is classically described by a Luria-Delbrück distribution composed of two parameters: the number of mutations per culture (m) and the differential growth rate between mutant and wild-type cells (b). A precise estimation of these two parameters is a prerequisite to the calculation of the mutation rate. Here, we developed bz-rates, a Web tool to calculate mutation rates that provides three useful advances over existing Web tools. First, it allows taking into account b, the differential growth rate between mutant and wild-type cells, in the estimation of m with the generating function. Second, bz-rates allows the user to take into account a deviation from the Luria-Delbrück distribution called z, the plating efficiency, in the estimation of m. Finally, the Web site provides a graphical visualization of the goodness-of-fit between the experimental data and the model. bz-rates is accessible at http://www.lcqb.upmc.fr/bzrates.
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine UMR7238, Biologie Computationnelle et Quantitative, F-75005, Paris, France.
Alexandre
A
Gillet-Markowska
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine UMR7238, Biologie Computationnelle et Quantitative, F-75005, Paris, France.
Guillaume
G
Louvel
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine UMR7238, Biologie Computationnelle et Quantitative, F-75005, Paris, France gilles.fischer@upmc.fr.
Gilles
G
Fischer
D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D059645:Mutation Rate; D012984:Software
Luria-Delbrück; fluctuation assay; mutation rate