Chromosome 8 is one of the 23 pairs of

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

s in

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

s. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 8 spans about 145 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and represents between 4.5 and 5.0% of the total DNA in cells. About 8% of its genes are involved in

brain development The development of the nervous system, or neural development (neurodevelopment), refers to the processes that generate, shape, and reshape the nervous system of animals, from the earliest stages of embryonic development to adulthood. The fiel ...

and function, and about 16% are involved in

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. A unique feature of 8p is a region of about 15 megabases that appears to have a high

mutation rate In genetics, the mutation rate is the frequency of new mutations in a single gene or organism over time. Mutation rates are not constant and are not limited to a single type of mutation; there are many different types of mutations. Mutation rates ...

. This region shows a significant divergence between human and chimpanzee, suggesting that its high mutation rates have contributed to the evolution of the human brain. __TOC__

Genes

Number of genes

The following are some of the gene count estimates of human chromosome 8. Because researchers use different approaches to

genome annotation DNA annotation or genome annotation is the process of identifying the locations of genes and all of the coding regions in a genome and determining what those genes do. An annotation (irrespective of the context) is a note added by way of explanati ...

their predictions of the

number of genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

on each chromosome varies (for technical details, see

gene prediction In computational biology, gene prediction or gene finding refers to the process of identifying the regions of genomic DNA that encode genes. This includes protein-coding genes as well as RNA genes, but may also include prediction of other functiona ...

). Among various projects, the collaborative consensus coding sequence project ( CCDS) takes an extremely conservative strategy. So CCDS's gene number prediction represents a lower bound on the total number of human protein-coding genes.

Gene list

The following is a partial list of genes on human chromosome 8. For complete list, see the link in the infobox on the right.

Diseases and disorders

The following diseases and disorders are some of those related to genes on chromosome 8: *

8p23.1 duplication syndrome 8p23.1 duplication syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by a Gene duplication, duplication of a region from human chromosome 8. This duplication syndrome has an estimated prevalence of 1 in 64,000 births and is the reciprocal of the 8p23.1 ...

* Burkitt lymphoma *

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy of the peripheral nervous system characterized by progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation across various parts of the body. This disease is the most ...

COACH syndrome COACH syndrome, also known as Joubert syndrome with hepatic defect, is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disease. The name is an acronym of the defining signs: cerebellar vermis, cerebellar vermis aplasia, oligophrenia, oligophrenia, ataxia, conge ...

Cleft lip and cleft palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The te ...

* Cohen syndrome *

Congenital hypothyroidism Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is thyroid hormone deficiency present at birth. If untreated for several months after birth, severe congenital hypothyroidism can lead to growth failure and permanent intellectual disability. Infants born with con ...

Fahr's syndrome Primary Indiana familial brain calcification Initial Posting: April 18, 2004; Last Update: August 24, 2017. (PFBC), also known as familial idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (FIBGC) and Fahr's disease, is a rare, genetically dominant, inher ...

Hereditary multiple exostoses Hereditary multiple osteochondromas (HMO), also known as hereditary multiple exostoses, is a disorder characterized by the development of multiple benign osteocartilaginous masses ( exostoses) in relation to the ends of long bones of the lower li ...

* Lipoprotein lipase deficiency, familial *

Myelodysplastic syndrome A myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is one of a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, and as a result, do not develop into healthy blood cells. Early on, no symptoms typically are seen. Later, symptoms may ...

Pfeiffer syndrome Pfeiffer syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the premature fusion of certain bones of the skull (craniosynostosis) which affects the shape of the head and face. In addition, the syndrome includes abnormalities of the hands (such ...

* Primary

microcephaly Microcephaly (from New Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it ...

Rothmund–Thomson syndrome Rothmund–Thomson syndrome (RTS) is a rare autosomal recessive skin condition. There have been several reported cases associated with osteosarcoma. A hereditary basis, mutations in the DNA helicase ''RECQL4'' gene, causing problems during initi ...

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

, associated with 8p21-22 locus *

Waardenburg syndrome Waardenburg syndrome is a group of rare genetic conditions characterised by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies, which can include bright blue eyes (or one blue eye and one brown eye), a white foreloc ...

Werner syndrome Werner syndrome (WS) or Werner's syndrome, also known as "adult progeria",James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). ''Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology''. (10th ed.). Saunders. . is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder ...

Pingelapese blindness Achromatopsia, also known as Rod monochromacy, is a medical syndrome that exhibits symptoms relating to five conditions, most notably monochromacy. Historically, the name referred to monochromacy in general, but now typically refers only to an a ...

Langer–Giedion syndrome Langer–Giedion syndrome (LGS) is a very uncommon autosomal dominant genetic disorder caused by a deletion of a small section of material on chromosome 8. It is named after the two doctors who undertook the main research into the condition in th ...

Roberts syndrome Roberts syndrome, or sometimes called pseudothalidomide syndrome, is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder that is characterized by mild to severe prenatal retardation or disruption of cell division, leading to malformation of th ...

* Hepatocellular carcinoma *

Sanfilippo syndrome Sanfilippo syndrome, also known as mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III), is a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease that primarily affects the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by a buildup of large sugar molecules called g ...

Genes

Number of genes

Gene list

Diseases and disorders

Cytogenetic band

References

External links