SIGNAL PROCESSING METHOD FOR DETERMINING BASE SEQUENCE OF NUCLEIC ACID

A signal processing method for determining the base sequence of nucleic acids from data on an autoradiograph is provided. An autoradiograph including a plurality of resolved rows is formed by resolving a mixture of base-specific DNA fragments or base-specific RNA fragments that have been labeled with a radioactive element in a one-dimensional direction on a support medium. The method detects bands along each resolved row corresponding to the nucleic acid bases from digital signal data representing position and signal level for each row. The digital signal data corresponding to the autoradiograph may be photoelectrically detected as stimulated emission from the recording of the autoradiograph of the resolved rows on a phosphor sheet or as visible images from the recording by the autoradiograph of the resolved rows on a radiosensitive material.