Adaptation of Standard Spreadsheet Software for the Analysis of DNA Sequences

Abstract

This paper presents use of spreadsheet software to derive various statistics on nucleotide and codon distribution and frequency from gene sequence data, including χ2 tests and their derivatives, and proportion of nucleotides in the third position. The basic principles can be easily extended to other more complex functions. In addition, it can be used to translate a nucleic acid sequence into a protein sequence or to produce a codon usage table. This adaptation permits sequence analysis without expensive dedicated software and easy modification of the analysis according to the user’s requirements. It is also ideal for introducing biological science students to the programming potential of spreadsheets.