Natural Animal Models of Human Genetic Diseases

The earth’s organisms are a vast repository of genetic diversity. Each species (n >10⁶ ) is distinguished from every other by a unique genomic sequence that is passed on to successive generations with extremely high, but not perfect, fidelity. Imperfections in DNA replication and repair mean that the genome of each member of a species is also unique. Intraspecific differences are one basis for individuality, including individual differences in susceptibility to disease. The most striking example of such differences is genetic diseases.