ir Version 2.3: Program for Calculating the Index of Repetitiveness, I_r, from DNA Sequences

Bernhard Haubold and Thomas Wiehe

DNA sequences vary strongly in their repetitiveness. However, the biological causes and consequences of this repetitiveness remain unclear. To put the investigation of DNA repetitiveness on a firm quantitative footing, we have devised the index of repetitiveness, I_r, which is $\approx$ 0 for sequences that contain only the amount of repeats expected under randomness, and > 0 for sequences with an excess of repeats [1].