Compositional complexity of DNA sequence models

Recently, we proposed a new measure of complexity for symbolic sequences (S equence Compositional Complexity, SCC) based on the entropic segmentation o f a sequence into compositionally homogeneous domains. Such segmentation is carried out by means of a conceptually simple, computationally efficient h euristic algorithm. SCC is now applied to the sequences generated by severa l stochastic models which describe the statistical properties of DNA, in pa rticular the observed long-range fractal correlations. This approach allows us to test the capability of the different models in describing the comple x compositional heterogeneity found in DNA sequences. Moreover, SCC detects clear differences where conventional standard methods fail. (C) 1999 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.