Copy-number polymorphisms:: mining the tip of an iceberg

Copy-number polymorphisms (CNPs) represent a greatly underestimated aspect of human genetic variation. Recently, two landmark studies reported genome-wide analyses of CNPs in normal individuals and represent the beginning of an understanding of this type of large-scale variation. Future array-CGH-based CNP analyses should include standard criteria on a common microarray platform. It is only when parallel analyses of CNPs and SNPs are performed in an integrated format that we will obtain a global picture of our genetic diversity.