Genetics, Vol. 167, 1027-1030, June 2004, Copyright © 2004
doi:10.1534/genetics.103.024885

Assessing the Relative Rate of (Mitochondrial) Genomic Change

Institutes of Molecular Biosciences and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Wollongong University, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, Australia

1 Address for correspondence: Department of Biology, Northfields Ave., Wollongong University, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
E-mail: mdowton{at}uow.edu.au

I report a framework for assessing whether one mitochondrial genome is significantly more rearranged than another. This relative rate of gene rearrangement test (RGR) behaves according to expectation, distinguishing between highly rearranged and mildly rearranged insect mitochondrial genomes. It may be more broadly applied to assess the relative rate of nuclear gene rearrangement.