Algorithms for Sorting by Reversals or Transpositions, with Application to Genome Rearrangement

Abstract

The problem of finding the minimum sequence of rearrangements that transforms one genome into another is a well-studied problem that finds application in comparative genomics. Representing genomes as permutations, in which genes appear as elements, that problem can be reduced to the combinatorial problem of sorting a permutation using a minimum number of rearrangements. Such combinatorial problem varies according to the types of rearrangements considered. The PhD thesis summarized in this paper presents exact, approximation, and heuristic algorithms for solving variants of the permutation sorting problem involving two types of rearrangements: reversals and transpositions.