HGNC is responsible for approving unique symbols and names for human loci, including protein coding genes, RNA genes and pseudogenes, to allow unambiguous scientific communication.
The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) is a committee of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) that sets the standards for human gene nomenclature. The HGNC approves a unique and meaningful name for every known human gene,[4][5] based on a query of experts. In addition to the name, which is usually 1 to 10 words long, the HGNC also assigns a symbol (a short group of characters) to every gene. As with an SI symbol, a gene symbol is like an abbreviation but is more than that, being a second unique name that can stand on its own just as much as substitute for the longer name. It may not necessarily "stand for" the initials of the name, although many gene symbols do reflect that origin.
The HGNC short gene names, or gene symbols, unlike previously used or published symbols, are specifically assigned to one gene only. This can result in less common abbreviations being selected but reduces confusion as to which gene is referred to.
symbols should not contain punctuation or "G" for gene
symbols do not contain any reference to the species they are encoded in, i.e. "H/h" for human
The HGNC states that "gene nomenclature should evolve with new technology rather than be restrictive, as sometimes occurs when historical and single gene nomenclature systems are applied."[7] The HGNC has also issued guides to specific locus types such as endogenous retroviral loci,[8] structural variants[9] and non-coding RNAs.[10][11][12]
When assigning new gene nomenclature the HGNC make efforts to contact authors who have published on the human gene in question by email, and their responses to the proposed nomenclature are requested. HGNC also coordinates with the related Mouse and Rat Genomic Nomenclature Committees, other database curators, and experts for given specific gene families or sets of genes.
The gene name revision procedure is similar to the naming procedure, but changing a standardized gene name after establishment of a consensus can create confusion, therefore the merit of this is controversial. For this reason the HGNC aims to change a gene name only if agreement for that change can be reached among a majority of researchers working on that gene.
^Wright MW, Eyre TA, Lush MJ, Povey S, Bruford EA (November 2005). "HCOP: the HGNC comparison of orthology predictions search tool". Mammalian Genome. 16 (11): 827–8. doi:10.1007/s00335-005-0103-2. PMID16284797. S2CID1091618.
^Eyre TA, Wright MW, Lush MJ, Bruford EA (January 2007). "HCOP: a searchable database of human orthology predictions". Briefings in Bioinformatics. 8 (1): 2–5. doi:10.1093/bib/bbl030. PMID16951416.
