Genomics is the field of genetics that attempts to understand the content, organization, and function of the genetic information contained in whole genomes.
Genetic maps position genes relative to other genes by determining rates of recombination and are measured in recombination frequencies. Physical maps are based on the physical distances between genes and are measured in base pairs.
The Human Genome Project was an effort to determine the entire sequence of the human genome.
Sequencing a whole genome requires breaking it into small overlapping fragments whose DNA sequences can be determined in sequencing reactions. The individual sequences can be ordered into a whole-
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Bioinformatics is a synthesis of molecular biology and computer science that develops tools to store, retrieve, and analyze DNA-
Metagenomics studies the genomes of entire groups of organisms. Synthetic biology is developing techniques for creating novel genomes and organisms.
Homologous genes are evolutionarily related. Gene function may be determined by looking for homologous sequences whose function has been previously determined.
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A microarray consists of known DNA fragments fixed in an orderly pattern to a solid support. Microarrays can be used to monitor the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously.
Most prokaryotic species have between 1 million and 3 million base pairs of DNA and from 1000 to 2000 genes. Compared with that of eukaryotic genomes, the density of genes in prokaryotic genomes is relatively uniform, with about one gene per 1000 base pairs.
Eukaryotic genomes are larger and more variable in size than prokaryotic genomes. There is no clear relation between organismal complexity and the amount of DNA or number of genes among multicellular organisms.
Proteomics determines the protein content of a cell and the functions of those proteins. Proteins within a cell can be separated and identified with the use of mass spectrometry. Structural proteomics attempts to determine the three-