The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. These are usually treated separately as the nuclear genome and the mitochondrial genome. Human genomes include both protein-coding DNA sequences and various types of DNA that does not encode proteins. The latter is a diverse category that includes DNA coding for non-translated RNA, such as that for ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA, ribozymes, small nuclear RNAs, and several types of regulatory RNAs. It also includes promoters and their associated gene-regulatory elements, DNA playing structural and replicatory roles, such as scaffolding regions, telomeres, centromeres, and origins of replication, plus large numbers of transposable elements, inserted viral DNA, non-functional pseudogenes and simple, highly repetitive sequences. Introns make up a large percentage of non-coding DNA. Some of this non-coding DNA is non-functional junk DNA, such as pseudogenes, but there is no firm consensus on the total amount of junk DNA.
Gene duplication is a major mechanism through which new genetic material is generated during molecular evolution. It can be defined as any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene. Gene duplications can arise as products of several types of errors in DNA replication and repair machinery as well as through fortuitous capture by selfish genetic elements. Common sources of gene duplications include ectopic recombination, retrotransposition event, aneuploidy, polyploidy, and replication slippage.
Copy number variation (CNV) is a phenomenon in which sections of the genome are repeated and the number of repeats in the genome varies between individuals. Copy number variation is a type of structural variation: specifically, it is a type of duplication or deletion event that affects a considerable number of base pairs. Approximately two-thirds of the entire human genome may be composed of repeats and 4.8–9.5% of the human genome can be classified as copy number variations. In mammals, copy number variations play an important role in generating necessary variation in the population as well as disease phenotype.
Interferon regulatory factor 6 also known as IRF6 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IRF6 gene.
Human genetic variation is the genetic differences in and among populations. There may be multiple variants of any given gene in the human population (alleles), a situation called polymorphism.
AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ARID1B gene. ARID1B is a component of the human SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex.
Single-stranded DNA-binding protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SSBP2 gene.
ZDHHC8 is a putative palmitoyltransferase enzyme containing a DHHC domain that in humans is encoded by the ZDHHC8 gene.
Zinc finger protein 330 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF330 gene.
SLC35F6 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC35F6 gene. The orthologue in mice is 4930471M23Rik.
Serine/threonine-protein kinase 40 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the STK40 gene.
The 1000 Genomes Project, taken place from January 2008 to 2015, was an international research effort to establish the most detailed catalogue of human genetic variation at the time. Scientists planned to sequence the genomes of at least one thousand anonymous healthy participants from a number of different ethnic groups within the following three years, using advancements in newly developed technologies. In 2010, the project finished its pilot phase, which was described in detail in a publication in the journal Nature. In 2012, the sequencing of 1092 genomes was announced in a Nature publication. In 2015, two papers in Nature reported results and the completion of the project and opportunities for future research.
Proline/serine-rich coiled-coil protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PSRC1 gene.
CYP20A1 is a protein which in humans is encoded by the CYP20A1 gene.
Mark Lathrop is a Canadian Biostatistician. He headed the Center for the Study of Human Polymorphisms, but returned to Canada as Scientific Director at McGill University and Genome Quebec's Innovation Centre in 2011.
Koolen–De Vries syndrome (KdVS), also known as 17q21.31 microdeletion syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deletion of a segment of chromosome 17 which contains six genes. This deletion syndrome was discovered independently in 2006 by three different research groups.
Genomic structural variation is the variation in structure of an organism's chromosome. It consists of many kinds of variation in the genome of one species, and usually includes microscopic and submicroscopic types, such as deletions, duplications, copy-number variants, insertions, inversions and translocations. Originally, a structure variation affects a sequence length about 1kb to 3Mb, which is larger than SNPs and smaller than chromosome abnormality. However, the operational range of structural variants has widened to include events > 50bp. The definition of structural variation does not imply anything about frequency or phenotypical effects. Many structural variants are associated with genetic diseases, however many are not. Recent research about SVs indicates that SVs are more difficult to detect than SNPs. Approximately 13% of the human genome is defined as structurally variant in the normal population, and there are at least 240 genes that exist as homozygous deletion polymorphisms in human populations, suggesting these genes are dispensable in humans. Rapidly accumulating evidence indicates that structural variations can comprise millions of nucleotides of heterogeneity within every genome, and are likely to make an important contribution to human diversity and disease susceptibility.
Zinc finger protein 300 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF300 gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a C2H2-type zinc finger DNA binding protein and a likely transcription factor.
Structural variation in the human genome is operationally defined as genomic alterations, varying between individuals, that involve DNA segments larger than 1 kilo base (kb), and could be either microscopic or submicroscopic. This definition distinguishes them from smaller variants that are less than 1 kb in size such as short deletions, insertions, and single nucleotide variants.
Matthew Edward Hurles is director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and an honorary professor of Human Genetics and Genomics at the University of Cambridge.
