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Analysis of the spatial organization of the cell: a statistical method for revealing the non‐random location of an organelle
Author(s) -
Hemon Denis,
Bourgeois Claire A.,
Bouteille Michel
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1981.tb01196.x
Subject(s) - randomness , organelle , point (geometry) , distribution (mathematics) , normal distribution , computer science , statistical analysis , uniform distribution (continuous) , section (typography) , statistics , statistical physics , mathematics , biological system , biology , physics , geometry , mathematical analysis , microbiology and biotechnology , operating system
SUMMARY A method is proposed for testing the randomness of the location of an organelle within a given area of a cell section. The approach chosen is to analyse the distance between this organelle and a specific point considered as a point of reference. The method consists of converting this distance into the ratio of one given area to another and comparing the statistical distribution of the converted values to the uniform distribution. This method has the advantage of being valid in the absence of any restrictive assumptions concerning the heterogeneity in size and/or shape of the collection of sections sampled. Detailed examples are given to illustrate the practical use of the method, and its possible extensions are discussed.