Poly: a quantitative analysis tool for simple sequence repeat (SSR) tracts in DNA

Background: Simple sequence repeats (SSRs), microsatellites or polymeric sequences are common in DNA and are important biologically. From mononucleotide to trinucleotide repeats and beyond, they can be found in long (> 6 repeating units) tracts and may be characterized by quantifying the frequencies in which they are found and their tract lengths. However, most of the existing computer programs that find SSR tracts do not include these methods. Results: A computer program named Poly has been written not only to find SSR tracts but to analyze the results quantitatively. Conclusions: Poly is significant in its use of non-standard, quantitative methods of analysis. And, with its flexible object model and data structure, Poly and its generated data can be used for even more sophisticated analyses.