A novel method for promoter search enhanced by function-specific subgrouping of promoters--developed and tested on E.coli system.

A new method for evaluating some complex characteristics of the primary structure of E.coli promoters is proposed. The method, of nonparametric statistical significance, selects important conserved single-base positions in combination with 2-base coupling relations of identity and complementarity. The extended consensus of promoter characteristics thus obtained was used to scan unknown sequences for similarity with E.coli promoters. In terms of this method, a complete set of 244 E.coli promoters was shown to be structurally inconsistent. The set was then broken down into functionally homogeneous subsets of promoters to enhance the selectivity of the search for E.coli-specific promoter sequences, with a high significance level being attained.