All of the genetic information, the entire genetic complement,
all of the hereditary material possessed by an organism.
H umans and many other higher animals actually have two genomes, which together
make up the total genome:
A chromosomal genome -- inside the nucleus of the cell in the familiar form
of chromosomes; and
A mitochondrial genome -- outside the nucleus in the cytoplasm of the cell,
usually in the form of one round chromosome (the mitochondrial chromosome).
The historical tendency has been to focus on the human genome somewhat to the exclusion
of the genomes of other organisms. This anthropomorphic view of genomics is perhaps
understandable but is a narrow view of the world. There are many other genomes including,
for example, the:
Arabidopsis thaliana genome (mustard weed)
C. elegans genome (a roundworm)
Drosophila genome (the fruitfly)
H. flu genome (a bacterium)
Mouse genome
Rice genome
Vibrio cholerae genome (cholera bacteria)
Yeast genome
The word genome dates to 1930. It was cobbled from the German Gen,
gene + -om (from the Greek soma, body). In the 1990s genome
went from being a highly specialized term not even in much usage in genetics to
a word that is now in common general currency. As with all revolutions, the Genetics
Revolution has ushered in a revolution in words.
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