- Ka/Ks ratio
In
genetics , the Ka/Ks ratio (or ω, dN/dS), is the ratio of the rate of non-synonymous substitution s (Ka) to the rate of synonymous substitutions (Ks), which can be used as an indicator of selective pressure acting on a protein-coding gene.Methods for estimating Ka and Ks can be classified into two groups: approximate methods and maximum-likelihood methods. Approximate methods involve three basic steps: (1) counting the number of synonymous and nonsynonymous sites, (2) counting the number of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions, and (3) correcting for multiple substitutions. The maximum-likelihood approach uses the probability theory to finish all three steps in one go (Yang and Bielawski, 2000).
References
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