'ZSTATS ' — a statistical analysis for potential Z-DNA sequences

We have developed a FORTRAN programme for scanning DNA sequences for p o t e n t i a l Z-DNA forming r e g i o n s us ing the One-Sample Runs Tes t. The programme also detects other non-random arrangements of purines and pyrimidines on the same strand and will detect purine- or pyrimidine-rich strands and G:C- or A:T-rich regions. A ser ies of tes t s t a t i s t i c s are produced as a graphical output and these have been used to search a number of 0- type globin DNA sequences for potential Z-DNA regions whose biological significance is briefly discussed