A
palindromic sequence is a DNA or RNA sequence that reads the same on the
complementary strand. It is
not a sequence that reads the same forwards and backwards.
Thus:
- AATCGCGATT is a palindromic sequence,
- AATCGGCTAA is not
Palindromic sequences are interesting because they are
hotspots for mutation. Palindromic DNA sequences in
Bacteria appear to be more prone to mutation than non-palindromic sequences.