centimorgan
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In genetics, a centimorgan (abbreviated cM) or map unit (m.u.) is a unit for measuring genetic linkage. It is defined as the distance between chromosome positions (also termed loci or markers) for which the expected average number of intervening chromosomal crossovers in a single generation is 0.01. It is often used to infer distance along a chromosome. However, it is not a true physical distance.
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Within Vinony's link graph, centimorgan is referenced by 33 other articles, and connects out to base pair, genetics and International Standard Book Number.
It is catalogued under topics including Dimensionless units, Genetics and Units of measurement.
Its subject is documented across 25 Wikipedia language editions.
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Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Relation to physical distance
- Relation to the probability of recombination
- Etymology
- See also
- References
- Further reading
In genetics, a centimorgan (abbreviated cM) or map unit (m.u.) is a unit for measuring genetic linkage. It is defined as the distance between chromosome positions (also termed loci or markers) for which the expected average number of intervening chromosomal crossovers in a single generation is 0.01. It is often used to infer distance along a chromosome. However, it is not a true physical distance.
== Relation to physical distance== The number of base pairs to which it corresponds varies widely across the genome (different regions of a chromosome have different propensities towards crossover) and it also depends on whether the meiosis in which the crossing-over takes place is a part of oogenesis (formation of female gametes) or spermatogenesis (formation of male gametes).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “centimorgan” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.