Inverted repeats in viral genomes

摘要

We investigate 738 complete genomes of viruses to detect the presence of short inverted repeats. The number of inverted repeats found is compared with the prediction obtained for a Bernoullian and for a Markovian control model. We find as a statistical regularity that the number of observed inverted repeats is often greater than the one expected in terms of a Bernouilian or Markovian model in several of the viruses and in almost all those with a genome longer than 30,000 bp.