The Variome is the whole set of genetic variation

Genetic variation

Genetic variation, variation in alleles of genes, occurs both within and among populations. Genetic variation is important because it provides the “raw material” for natural selection. Genetic variation is brought about by mutation, a change in a chemical structure of a gene. Polyploidy is an...

s found in populations of species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 that have gone through a relatively short evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

 change. For example, among humans, about 1 in every 1,200 nucleotide bases differ. However, as the human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

 species diverged only 10,000 years ago, this variation rate is comparatively small. In practice, the variome can be the sum of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the population. Variomics is the study of variome and a branch of bioinformatics

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...

.

Projects

There are a number of international project studying the human variome, including the International HapMap Project

International HapMap Project

The International HapMap Project is an organization that aims to develop a haplotype map of the human genome, which will describe the common patterns of human genetic variation. HapMap is a key resource for researchers to find genetic variants affecting health, disease and responses to drugs and...

 and the Human Variome Project

Human Variome Project

The Human Variome Project is the global initiative to collect and curate all human genetic variation affecting human health. Its mission is to improve health outcomes by facilitating the unification of data on human genetic variation and its impact on human health.-Inception:The HVP concept was...

 (HVP). The HapMap Project aims to identify and catalog genetic similarities and differences among humans. The HVP aims to collect data on all human genetic variation.

See also

• Single nucleotide polymorphism
  Single nucleotide polymorphism
  A single-nucleotide polymorphism is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide — A, T, C or G — in the genome differs between members of a biological species or paired chromosomes in an individual...
  
  
• DNA sequence
  DNA sequence
  The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
  
  
• International HapMap Project
  International HapMap Project
  The International HapMap Project is an organization that aims to develop a haplotype map of the human genome, which will describe the common patterns of human genetic variation. HapMap is a key resource for researchers to find genetic variants affecting health, disease and responses to drugs and...
  
  
• OMIM
• Omics

External links

• Human Genome Variation Society
• Omics.org General Omics topics
• Variomics.net: The earliest variomics project site
• PersonalGenome.net: openfree Personal Genome project home page (Free Genome project)