CATGACTTCTAATCGC..... **** ****** ** CCATTCTGACTGACTT ACTG * * TCAG my @strings = ($genome1, $mismatches, $genome2); for (my $x = 0; $x < length ($strings [0]); $x+= 60) { join, map (substr ($strings[$_], $x, 60), 0..2); }