RESUMO
A new mathematical method for potential reading frameshift detection in protein-coding sequences (cds) was developed. The algorithm is adjusted to the triplet periodicity of each analysed sequence using dynamic programming and a genetic algorithm. This does not require any preliminary training. Using the developed method, cds from the Arabidopsis thaliana genome were analysed. In total, the algorithm found 9,930 sequences containing one or more potential reading frameshift(s). This is â¼21% of all analysed sequences of the genome. The Type I and Type II error rates were estimated as 11% and 30%, respectively. Similar results were obtained for the genomes of Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Homo sapiens, Rattus norvegicus and Xenopus tropicalis. Also, the developed algorithm was tested on 17 bacterial genomes. We compared our results with the previously obtained data on the search for potential reading frameshifts in these genomes. This study discussed the possibility that the reading frameshift seems like a relatively frequently encountered mutation; and this mutation could participate in the creation of new genes and proteins.