Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What is the percentage of same DNA in identical twins?

I am writing a report on DNA that counts for my whole grade in science and I need to know what the percentage of same DNA is in identical twins. I think it might be some where in the 90% area.What is the percentage of same DNA in identical twins?
Your teacher isn't being accurate. They have identical (100%) DNA. Identical twins form because 1 egg and 1 sperm split into two fetuses.



They don't end up looking 100% identical because of environmental factors that create small differences in appearance. Environmental influences can also result in "epigenic modifications" to the DNA, which is when some genes are switched on or off. These differences are also fairly minor between identical twins.



Additionally, random mutations are always possible. The human genome encodes approximately 22,500 genes. Each gene contains many (hundreds to thousands) of individual base-pairs. Genes only comprise about 98% of the DNA in humans. So one mutation is equivalent to an insignificant difference in the % of shared DNA.
its a number very close, but not quite equal, to 100%What is the percentage of same DNA in identical twins?
Since we share 99% of DNA with chimps, it's probably more than that.
99.9%What is the percentage of same DNA in identical twins?
Except for cases where there may have been a random mutation, it is 100%. The reason identical twins are never 100% identical is due to environmental factors acting on them.
Yeah, I thought all people are 99.99% identical in DNA, just some tiny things that change our phenotypes..
98%

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