Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Targeted Next-generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Pipeline to Evaluate Genetic Determinants of Constitutional Disease
Published on: April 4, 2018
Genome-wide prediction of human VNTRs
Karl Näslund1, Peter Saetre, Jenny von Salomé
1Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, S-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract:
Polymorphic minisatellites, also known as variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), are tandem repeat regions that show variation in the number of repeat units among chromosomes in a population. Currently, there are no general methods for predicting which minisatellites have a high probability of being polymorphic, given their sequence characteristics. An earlier approach has focused on potentially highly polymorphic and hypervariable minisatellites, which make up only a small fraction of all minisatellites in the human genome. We have developed a model, based on available minisatellite and VNTR sequence data, that predicts the probability that a minisatellite (unit size > or = 6 bp) identified by the computer program Tandem Repeats Finder is polymorphic (VNTR). According to the model, minisatellites with high copy number and high degree of sequence similarity are most likely to be VNTRs. This approach was used to scan the draft sequence of the human genome for VNTRs. A total of 157,549 minisatellite repeats were found, of which 29,224 are predicted to be VNTRs. Contrary to previous results, VNTRs appear to be widespread and abundant throughout the human genome, with an estimated density of 9.1 VNTRs/Mb.
More Related Videos
04:41Mapping Alzheimer's Disease Variants to Their Target Genes Using Computational Analysis of Chromatin Configuration
Published on: January 9, 2020
08:04Identification and Classification of Position-specific GABAA Receptor Subunit Missense Variants for Their Role In Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons
Published on: June 6, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Human Genetics
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
Multi-species Conserved Sequences
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Human Virome
Genomics