Variant

Any change in the DNA sequence of a cell. Variants may be caused by mistakes during cell division, or they may be caused by exposure to DNA-damaging agents in the environment. Variants can be harmful, beneficial, or have no effect. If they occur in cells that make eggs or sperm, they can be inherited; if variants occur in other types of cells, they are not inherited. Certain variants may lead to cancer or other diseases. A variant is sometimes called a mutation.

As the term applies to CMT, when a CMT genetic test result identifies a mutation in a gene, the mutation is referred to as a variant. Variant, in this context, is a gene with a mutation – a gene variant.