Recount slashes number of human genes

October 21, 2004 | Source: NewScientist.com News

Humans have just 20,000 to 25,000 genes, less than previous estimates of 27,000 to 40,000, says the latest analysis of the human genome.

The latest gene count reveals that researchers overestimated the number of genes lurking in heavily-duplicated regions of the human genome, which are extremely tricky to sequence because they are repeated DNA sequences.

A separate study has found detailed flaws in Venter’s “shotgun” sequencing, the more rapid of the two methods used to sequence genomes. It failed to pick up many duplicated regions.