The Genome Rearrangement Problem

Problem 1   Given two permutations of a set of genomic segments, find the minimal set of operations to transform one permutation into the other.

Rearrangement events are much less frequent than point mutations. For example, substitutions occur in some organisms about 10 times in each generation. A non fatal rearrangement event occurs once every 5 to 10 million years. By discovering what rearrangement events have occurred, and what was their order of occurrence, there is a chance to get a better understanding of the evolutionary process.