Length (bp) 90,338,345 bp Type Autosome RefSeq NC_000016 | No. of genes 1,920
2,256 Centromere position Metacentric GenBank CM000678 | |
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Chromosome 16 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 16 spans about 90 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and represents just under 3% of the total DNA in cells.
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Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to genome annotation their predictions of the number of genes on each chromosome varies. In January 2017, two estimates differed by 18%, with one estimate giving 1,920 genes, and the other estimate giving 2,256 genes.
In February 2010, a new cause of obesity due to a microdeletion on chromosome 16 was announced. It may explain about 1% of obesity cases. Research showed that this microdeletion is relatively common in obese people but lacking in most non-obese people.