Chromosome+8+(human)

=Chromosome 8 (human)=

In the human genome, **chromosome 8** is one of the 23 chromosomes. It is a submetacentric chromosome, found within group C of the human karyotype. As with all autosomes, somatic cells carry two copies of chromosome 8, while gametes carry only one copy.

Chromosome 8 is approximately 145 Mbp (million base pairs) in length, comprising ~4.5-5% of the haploid genome Chromosome 8 has approximately 700-1000 genes

Unique to chromosome 8 is a region in the p arm of about 15 Mbp which has an abnormally high mutation rate and is genetically very divergent between humans and chimpanzees. This strongly implies that the region may be implicated in the evolution of the human brain (many of the genes here are involved in brain development and function). Furthermore, about 16% of genes on the p arm are involved in cancer.

Significant genes (and some related genetic diseases) on chromosome 8 include: