Human and mouse gene nomenclature.

Standard genetic nomenclature is necessary to help researchers, clinicians, and the public to access data on their genes of interest, and to communicate in a globally understood language of approved gene symbols. In both human and mouse, one unique symbol (acronym/abbreviation) and one name are assigned for each gene. Co-ordination between human and mouse gene nomenclature is a successful endeavor, due in part to the historical interaction between the two nomenclature committee groups. This interaction grew out of the Human Gene Mapping (HGM) Workshops. This appendix discusses development and organization of gene nomenclature, how to find a gene and how to name a new gene.