How does the frequency of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in zebrafish compare to humans relative to genome size?
SNPs are approximately four times more frequent in zebrafish than in humans
When comparing the genetic diversity between laboratory zebrafish strains and humans, the density of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) is strikingly different relative to genome size. While the reference genome sequencing showed about 7 million SNPs between two lab strains, a single wild zebrafish can possess over 5 million SNPs within its own genome. When benchmarked against humans, where thousands of sequenced genomes yield a total of only 38 million SNPs, this suggests that SNPs are about four times more frequent in zebrafish than in humans when normalized by genome size. This high genetic variability in the wild underscores their ecological adaptability but also creates challenges in laboratory settings due to background effects.
