GC content and genome length in Chargaff compliant genomes

Musto et al. [H. Musto, H. Naya, A. Zavala, H. Romero, F. Alvarez-Valin, G. Bernardi, Genomic GC level, optimal growth temperature, and genome size in prokaryotes, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 347 (2006) 1–3] recently reported a linear correlation between GC content and genome length. The regression model was heteroscedactic which suggested that the relationship might be more clearly defined. Alternative regression models (R2>0.95)(R2>0.95) were fitted to a set of over 900 sequences compliant with Chargaff’s second parity rule. The new models suggest that the relationship between GC content and genome length is more complex than was originally suggested. While similar models can be derived for non-Chargaff compliant genomes, their interpretation is likely to be more difficult.