Maximum Likelihood Estimation of the Number of Nucleotide Substitutions from Restriction Sites Data

A simple method of the maximum likelihood estimation of the number of nucleotide substitutions is presented for the case where restriction sites data from many different restriction enzymes are available. An iteration method, based on nucleotide counting, is also developed. This method is simpler than the maximum likelihood method but gives the same estimate. A formula for computing the variance of a maximum likelihood estimate is also presented.