Glossary - Hypervariable Region (HVR-1, HVR-2)
Hypervariable Region (HVR-1, HVR-2)
Specific regions of the mtDNA that do not code for protein. In humans, the HVR region typically contains a large number of mutations which can be used to derive ancestry. The entire mtDNA is 16,569 base pairs in length. The HVR-1 region is found within base pairs 16001 to 16569, and the HVR-2 region is found between base pairs 1 to 574. Testing the HVR-1 and HVR-2 regions of the mtDNA is usually the starting point for ancestral studies.
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