Genomic nucleotide signal analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Genomic signals analysis (GSA) can reveal genome scale features that would be difficult to find directly from the symbolic representation of nucleotide sequences in the genomic data bases. Additionally to encoding a certain content, a nucleotide sequence satisfies morphological restrictions that make it structurally more similar to a "poem", which has "rhythm" and "rhyme", then to a "plain text". These structural features are reflected in the regularities observed in the corresponding genomic signals. The paper applies the GSA methodology to the study of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT) rpoB gene, which encodes the 8 subunit of the RNA polymerase. The mutations occurring at well defined sites along the gene strand can be put in direct correspondence with the pathogen resistance to rifampin (RMP).