Polymorphism

When we observe a genetic change being shared by more than 1% of the population, we call that change a polymorphism rather than a mutation.

The naming convention recognizes that the genetic change from the ancestral version of a given allele now represents a pervasive, heritable variation of a gene rather than a spontaneous, one-off alteration.

Examples of the impact polymorphisms can include how variation exists in the genes contributing to the different eye and hair coloring in mammals or how well different types of apples keep in storage before spoiling.