HapMap Sequencing

Following the successful completion of the sequence of the Genome by the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Celera Genomics, and a consortium of hundreds of investigators in scores of laboratories throughout the world, the NHGRI initiated a new program called HapMap sequencing. An optimum set of 300,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was identified as a base for correlating mutations in these sites with specific disease processes. NCBI maintains the database of all SNP mutations. A recent report indicates that individuals homozygous for the risk allele of a complement factor H (CFH) polymorphism are 7.4 times more likely to get age-related macular degeneration (AMD).