What does DNA sound like? 07 DNA as Music

What does DNA sound like? Using music to unlock the secrets of genetic code DNA acts as a template for the production of proteins in our bodies. A DNA sequence is a long, continuous chain made up of only four chemical bases referred to as G, A, T, or C. The challenge of DNA sonification is to convert linear DNA sequence information into human comprehensible sound in a way that has an implied biological meaning. This is done by minicing the way in which cells process DNA to make a protein. In this approach, all three possible reading frames are sonified. Each reading frame is shifted by one nucleotide and codons of each frame are mapped to one of three distinct sounding instruments. These notes are interlaced into a single audio file as an arpeggiated sequence. In the absence of further processing this gives rise to a characteristic triplet phrasing of notes in the auditory display. Additionally start and stop codons cause the audio stream of the reading frame in which they occur to be heard or be silenced. Start or stop codons can also be used to trigger distinct audio sounds to highlight their occurrence irrespective of whether the reading frame is silent or not. A potential start codon (ATG) is sonified with a percussive Electric Snare and stop codons are sonified with high frequency cymbal sounds (TGA with a Crash Cymbal, TAA with a Chinese Cymbal and TAG with the Ride-Bell). For more informtion see “An auditory display tool for DNA sequence analysis“ BMC Bioinformatics, DOI: