text: The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee is responsible for providing human gene naming guidelines and approving new, unique human gene names and symbols (short identifiers typically created by abbreviating). All human gene names and symbols can be searched online at the HGNC website, and the guidelines for their formation are available there. The guidelines for humans fit logically into the larger scope of vertebrates in general, and the HGNCs remit has recently expanded to assigning symbols to all vertebrate species without an existing nomenclature committee, to ensure that vertebrate genes are named in line with their human orthologs/paralogs. Human gene symbols generally are italicised, with all letters in uppercase (e.g., SHH, for sonic hedgehog). Italics are not necessary in gene catalogs. Protein designations are the same as the gene symbol except that they are not italicised. Like the gene symbol, they are in all caps because human (human-specific or human homolog). mRNAs and cDNAs use the same formatting conventions as the gene symbol. For naming families of genes, the HGNC recommends using a "root symbol" as the root for the various gene symbols. For example, for the peroxiredoxin family, PRDX is the root symbol, and the family members are PRDX1, PRDX2, PRDX3, PRDX4, PRDX5, and PRDX6'.