Familial dup(5)(q15q21) associated with normal and abnormal phenotypes

We studied a familial dup(5q) present in a phenotypically normal father and his monozygotic twin daughters with different abnormal phenotypes. High-resolution chromosome analysis suggested that the duplicated segment was of region q15-21, which seems to be the smallest dup(5q) reported thus far. This dup(5q) was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization with a chromosome 5 painting library and 5q cosmid clones. The presence of the dup(5q) in a normal father suggested that the duplication itself may be harmless. The anomalies in the twins may be due to processes other than this chromosome change.