Construction of phylogenetic trees by pattern recognition procedures.

The sequence of a protein can be graphed as a discrete function and a cross-correlation between any two such number sets produces a similarity score. The scores are used to prepare a phylogenetic tree involving hierarchical cluster analysis, non-linear mapping, and minimal spanning routines. Changes are suggested in the sequences of cytochrome c's from Mediterranean fruit fly, locust, and rattlesnake. The method is faster than existing procedures and does not require human intervention at any stage.