This tutorial will guide you through using a Python script to calculate the GC content of a DNA sequence. GC content is the percentage of bases in a DNA sequence that are either Guanine (G) or Cytosine (C).
Download the Python script gc_content_analyzer.py
from the link below:
Download gc_content_analyzer.py
Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where the script is saved. Run the script using the following command:
python3 gc_content_analyzer.py
The script will prompt you to enter a DNA sequence. Type or paste your sequence and press Enter. For example:
> ATGCGATCGATCGTAGCTAGCTAGCTAG
The script will calculate and display the GC content of the sequence.
To exit the program, type exit
and press Enter.
Here’s an example of what the output might look like:
GC Content Analyzer
-------------------
Enter a DNA sequence (or 'exit' to quit):
> ATGCGATCGATCGTAGCTAGCTAGCTAG
GC Content: 50.00%
> exit
Exiting the program. Goodbye!
The script uses a simple function to count the number of G and C bases in the sequence and calculates the percentage of GC content. It also includes input validation to ensure the sequence contains only valid DNA bases (A, T, C, G).
If you'd like to contribute to this project, feel free to fork the repository and submit a pull request. You can also report issues or suggest improvements.