Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the genetic material of an organism. It consists of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA.

Origin of term

The term was created in 1920 by Hans Winkler, professor of botany at the University of Hamburg, Germany. The Oxford Dictionary suggests the name to be a blend of the words gene and chromosome. However, see omics for a more thorough discussion. A few related -ome words already existed—such as biome, rhizome, forming a vocabulary into which genome fits systematically.

Overview

Some organisms have multiple copies of chromosomes: diploid, triploid, tetraploid and so on. In classical genetics, in a sexually reproducing organism (typically eukarya) the gamete has half the number of chromosomes of the somatic cell and the genome is a full set of chromosomes in a diploid cell. The halving of the genetic material in gametes is accomplished by the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. In haploid organisms, including cells of bacteria, archaea, and in organelles including mitochondria and chloroplasts, or viruses, that similarly contain genes, the single or set of circular or linear chains of DNA (or RNA for some viruses), likewise constitute the genome. The term genome can be applied specifically to mean what is stored on a complete set of nuclear DNA (i.e., the "nuclear genome") but can also be applied to what is stored within organelles that contain their own DNA, as with the "mitochondrial genome" or the "chloroplast genome". Additionally, the genome can comprise non-chromosomal genetic elements such as viruses, plasmids, and transposable elements.

Genome (disambiguation)

Genome is the totality of genetic material carried by an organism.

Genome may also refer to:

See also

Chromosome (genetic algorithm)

In genetic algorithms, a chromosome (also sometimes called a genotype) is a set of parameters which define a proposed solution to the problem that the genetic algorithm is trying to solve. The set of all solutions is known as the population. The chromosome is often represented as a binary string, although a wide variety of other data structures are also used.

Chromosome design

The design of the chromosome and its parameters is by necessity specific to the problem to be solved. Traditionally, chromosomes are represented in binary as strings of 0s and 1s, however other encodings are also possible; almost any representation which allows the solution to be represented as a finite-length string can be used. Finding a suitable representation of the problem domain for a chromosome is an important consideration, as a good representation will make the search easier by limiting the search space; similarly, a poorer representation will allow a larger search space. The mutation operator and crossover operator employed by the genetic algorithm must also take into account the chromosome's design.