Linking chromosome abnormality and copy number variation

Nine out of 10 people has a chromosome copy number variation (CNV) of >1,000bp of DNA. In some cases they are inconsequential, in other cases the variations cause disease or disability, and in most cases the relevance has not been elucidated. Several studies describe CNVs as "normal" biological variants while other studies suggest that CNVs may be associated with developmental disability. A concerted effort is needed to classify genes according to their dosage sensitivity, or to their lack of sensitivity. Over time, this effort will lead to the establishment of principles that permit the prediction of the consequence of any one genomic copy number change.