Hello,
I am having a difficult time understanding the concept of SNP's and polymorphisms in general.
So far, I understand that a SNP is a change in a single nucleotide in the DNA sequence that occurs in greater than 1% of the population.
If everyone's genome is not sequenced, then how does anyone know that this particular change in nucleotide is in fact in greater than 1% of the population?
If we have a paternal and a maternal chromosome, does the SNP have to occur in one of these or both of these?
So is there a chromosome set that everyone is comparing these changes in nucleotide to?
Any help would be appreciated.