Figure 1.

Patterns of chromosomal structural variations detected in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). If we use books as a metaphor for the genome, there would be two copies of each chromosome and chapters would represent genes (top and bottom left of figure). Chromothripsis would be equivalent to pulling out the chapters of one book, throwing some out, rearranging the remaining chapters and placing them back into the binding (top right of figure). Chromoplexy would be equivalent to pulling one chapter each out of two to three books, rearranging them in a new order and placing them back into a book (bottom right of figure). We often find that only parts of genes are involved in these events rather than whole genes, but this metaphor helps to illustrate the concept of complex rearrangements (This image is used with permission by Mayo Clinic).