What do brackets [ ], braces { }, a question mark (?), and the numbers (1)(2)(3) mean in the Disorder column of the Gene Map and Morbid Map?
Certain “nondiseases,” mainly genetic variations that lead to apparently abnormal laboratory test values (e.g., dysalbuminemic euthyroidal hyperthyroxinemia), are included in brackets, “[ ]”. Braces, “{ }”, indicate examples of mutations that lead to universal susceptibility to a specific infection (diphtheria, polio), to frequent resistance to a specific infection (vivax malaria), protection from nicotine addiction, as well as some other susceptibilities. A question mark, “?”, before the disease name is the equivalent of L (in limbo) for mapping status. The number in parentheses after the name of each disorder indicates whether the mutation was positioned by mapping the wildtype gene (1), by mapping the disease phenotype itself (2), or by both approaches (3). The last “3”, includes mapping of the wildtype gene combined with demonstration of a mutation in that gene in association with the disorder. The genemap.key file on the FTP site contains additional information about the OMIM Gene
