Variant

How it is used

The standard term in clinical genetic reports. Variants are classified into five groups: pathogenic, likely pathogenic, variant of uncertain significance (VUS), likely benign and benign. In virology, 'variant' also means a version of a virus, such as a new SARS-CoV-2 variant.

Example sentences

1. The report lists one variant of uncertain significance in the MYH7 gene.

2. Most variants in the human genome have no effect on health.

Common collocations

• genetic variant
• rare variant
• variant of uncertain significance
• classify a variant
• pathogenic variant

Related terms

• mutationA permanent change in the DNA sequence. It may have no effect, cause disease or, occasionally, give an advantage.
• pathogenicCausing disease. In clinical genetics, it describes a variant for which there is strong evidence that it causes a particular condition.
• SNPSingle nucleotide polymorphism: a position in the genome where people commonly differ by one base. SNPs are the most common type of genetic variation.
• variant callingThe bioinformatics step that compares aligned reads with a reference genome to find where a sample's DNA differs, producing a list of variants.
• copy number variationA difference between people in the number of copies of a section of DNA, often thousands of base pairs or longer, caused by deletions or duplications.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• variant · Software Engineering
• variant · Data Science & Analytics
• variant · Product Management

More terms: Mutations and Genetic Variation

• point mutation
• deletion
• frameshift mutation
• somatic mutation
• germline