Genome
hideIn classical genetics, the genome of a diploid organism including eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a gamete; thereby, a regular somatic cell contains two full sets of genomes. In haploid organisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and mitochondria, a cell contains only a single set of the genome, usually in a single circular or contiguous linear DNA (or RNA for retroviruses). In modern molecular biology the genome of an organism is its hereditary information encoded in DNA (or, for retroviruses, RNA).
The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA. The term was adapted in 1920 by Hans Winkler, Professor of Botany at the University of Hamburg, Germany. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests the name to be a portmanteau of the words gene and chromosome; however, many related -ome words already existed, such as biome and rhizome, forming a vocabulary into which genome fits systematically.
More precisely, the genome of an organism is a complete genetic sequence on one set of chromosomes; for example, one of the two sets that a diploid individual carries in every somatic cell. The term genome can be applied specifically to mean that stored on a complete set of nuclear DNA (i.e., the "nuclear genome") but can also be applied to that stored within organelles that contain their own DNA, as with the mitochondrial genome or the chloroplast genome. Additionally, the genome can comprise nonchromosomal genetic elements such as viruses, plasmids, and transposable elements. When people say that the genome of a sexually reproducing species has been "sequenced", typically they are referring to a determination of the sequences of one set of autosomes and one of each type of sex chromosome, which together represent both of the possible sexes. Even in species that exist in only one sex, what is described as "a genome sequence" may be a composite read from the chromosomes of various individuals. In general use, the phrase "genetic makeup" is sometimes used conversationally to mean the genome of a particular individual or organism. The study of the global properties of genomes of related organisms is usually referred to as genomics, which distinguishes it from genetics which generally studies the properties of single genes or groups of genes.
Both the number of base pairs and the number of genes vary widely from one species to another, and there is little connection between the two (an observation known as the C-value paradox). At present, the highest known number of genes is around 60,000, for the protozoan causing trichomoniasis (see List of sequenced eukaryotic genomes), almost three times as many as in the human genome.
An analogy to the human genome stored on DNA is that of instructions stored in a book:
For more information about Genome, read the full article at
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News tagged with genome
Researchers complete draft genome sequence for cassava
2 hours ago |
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A team of academic, government and industry researchers has completed a first draft of the cassava (Manihot esculenta) genome. The project is an important first step in accelerating the pace of research on this subsistence ...
Australian researchers first in the world to solve the genetic code of canola
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Until recently, the genetic code of canola was a mystery. Australian researcher Dr David Edwards, in collaboration with Bayer CropScience and Keygene N.V., is the first in the world to have solved the code, ...
Genomes of biofuel yeasts reveal clues that could boost fuel ethanol production
Nov 05, 2009 |
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As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Re ...
Genome sequence for the domestic horse unveiled
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that ...
Complete Genomics reports low-cost sequencing of 3 human genomes
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Complete Genomics, a third-generation human genome sequencing company, today announced publication of a report in the journal Science describing its proprietary DNA sequencing platform, including analysis of seq ...
Importance of different cell types underestimated
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Choosing the right cell type is particularly important in genetic studies. This is apparent from research published on 16 October in PLoS Genetics. Dutch researcher Alice Gerrits has shown how variations in the genome can in ...
Singapore scientists describe novel method for 3-D whole genome mapping research
Nov 04, 2009 |
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In this week's Nature, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) scientists report a technological advance in the study of gene expression and regulation in the genome's three-dimensional folding and looping state through the de ...
Study sheds light on evolution of human complexity
Nov 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising ...
Cucumber genome published
Nov 02, 2009 |
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The genome of the cucumber has been sequenced by an international consortium lead by Chinese and U.S. institutions. The annotated genome is published online Nov. 1 by the journal Nature Genetics.
Researchers sequence swine genome
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A global collaborative has produced a first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig, an achievement that will lead to insights in agriculture, medicine, conservation and evolution.
New insights into Australia's unique platypus
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New insights into the biology of the platypus and echidna have been published, providing a collection of unique research data about the world's only monotremes.
'Moonlighting' molecules discovered
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Since the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome ...
New study reveals first ever method to genetically identify all 8 tuna species
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A new paper published October 27 in PLoS ONE, the online, open-access scientific journal, unveils for the first time a method to accurately distinguish between all eight tuna species from any kind of processed tissue using ...
A solution to Darwin's 'mystery of the mysteries' emerges from the dark matter of the genome
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Biological species are often defined on the basis of reproductive isolation. Ever since Darwin pointed out his difficulty in explaining why crosses between two species often yield sterile or inviable progeny (for instance, ...
Rare mutation dramatically increasing schizophrenia risk
Oct 25, 2009 |
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An international team of researchers led by geneticist Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has identified a mutation on human chromosome 16 that substantially increases risk for schizophrenia.
