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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · DNA, Genes and Chromosomes

Genome

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

/ˈdʒiːnoʊm/nounCore term

In genetics & biotechnology, genome means: The complete set of DNA in an organism or cell, including all of its genes and the DNA between them.

In Turkish: genom

How it is used

Used in genomics, sequencing and evolution. People sequence, assemble, annotate and edit a genome. The human genome has about 3 billion base pairs and roughly 20,000 protein-coding genes. You also hear 'genome-wide', 'genome assembly' and 'genome editing'.

Example sentences

  1. A bacterial genome is only a few million base pairs, so we can sequence it in a day.

  2. Our lab uses CRISPR to make precise changes in the mouse genome.

Common collocations

  • human genome
  • sequence a genome
  • genome assembly
  • genome-wide
  • genome editing
  • geneA section of DNA that carries the instructions for making a protein or a functional RNA molecule; it is the basic unit of heredity passed from parents to children.
  • chromosomeA long, tightly packed structure of DNA and proteins inside the cell nucleus. Humans normally have 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs.
  • genomicsThe branch of science that studies whole genomes, including their structure, function and evolution, usually with large-scale sequencing and computer analysis.
  • reference genomeA standard, high-quality genome sequence for a species that researchers use as a common map when aligning reads and describing variants.
  • whole-genome sequencingSequencing nearly all of an organism's DNA, both the genes and the regions between them, in a single test.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: DNA, Genes and Chromosomes

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