Atheer Matroud

Citation

Thesis Title
Nested Tandem Repeats - Computation and Analysis

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Mr Matroud studied nested tandem repeats, a complex repetitive structure found in some DNA sequences that consists of many repeated copies of two segments interspersed with one another. Repeated elements such as these have implications for some diseases, and can be used to study the relationships between species. In particular, a nested tandem repeat has been found in the staple crop plant taro, and a comparison of these from different taro cultivars may eventually help understand the history of migration in the Pacific. Mr Matroud developed several software tools to help biologists study nested tandem repeats, including an algorithm to detect them in DNA sequences; an algorithm to dissect them into their repeated components; and an algorithm to compare two closely related nested tandem repeats, and estimate the evolutionary distance between them. Mr Matroud''stools are among the first developed to understand nested tandem repeats.

Supervisors
Dr Christopher Tuffley
Associate Professor David Bryant
Professor Michael Hendy