The structural complexity of DNA templates—Implications on cellular complexity

Abstract

A previously formulated procedure for the quantitative evaluation of the complexities of molecules and biostructures is applied to assess the complexities of selected genomic DNA sequences. These include: (1) Several E. coli genes, including lacI, as examples of DNA sequences which are nearly as complex as possible (relative complexity=∼1). This is verified by the Lempel–Ziv (LZ) complexity analysis. (2) The telomere of a yeast chromosome, which has a considerable number of regular features that reduce complexity; the telomere shows indeed a lower structural complexity value. (3) A segment of human DNA, gene p53, which has a certain number of regular features such as 29 interspersed alu elements; these features cause a certain reduction in the complexity of the p53 gene, but do not invalidate the (previous) overall conclusion that template complexity is very high. The close to maximal complexity of the transcribed regions of p53 is validated by the LZ compression analysis. The general conclusion is that DNA base sequence composition is the dominant factor determining cellular complexity. The high complexity of DNA arrived at is a direct consequence of the template character of DNA and reflects the role of genomic DNA as a principal regulating element of a cell. It will be a challenge to find systems of lower complexity with the ability to respond to challenges from the environment to the extent that DNA templated systems do. Cellular complexity and template directed activity are thus highly intertwined properties, at the heart of many developmental, behavioral and evolutionary processes.