Bangladesh Agricultural University researchers develop rapid DNA analysis software

Researchers at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have developed a new software designed to make DNA analysis significantly faster and more efficient. Led by Associate Professor Dr. Mezbaha Uddin from the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, the team claims the software can operate between 55 and 1,747 times faster than the popular software ‘MEGA’.

In addition to increased speed, the new tool uses 30 to 99 percent less computer memory compared to conventional methods. The software, developed with support from the government’s ICT Division, can be used via computers or web interfaces. It functions by examining small segments of DNA to find similarities and considering both direct and reverse complementary sequences to create numerical lists for comparison.

This method allows for the rapid construction of phylogenetic trees to identify genetic similarities and differences between organisms. The researchers reported that the accuracy of the trees produced by this method ranges from 95 to 100 percent. The study has been published in the international scientific journal ‘Molecular Genetics and Genomics’.