What is a genome?
Before we discuss genomes, let’s do a quick Genetics 101. A cell represents the fundamental structural and functional unit of life. DNA contains the instructions that are needed to perform different activities of the cell. DNA is the basis of genetic studies and consists of four building blocks called nucleotides – adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T), which store information about life. The sequence of DNA is a string of these building blocks, also referred to as bases. DNA has a double-helix structure with two complementary polymers interlaced with each other. In the complementary strand of DNA, A matches with T, and G matches with C, to form base pairs.
A genome represents the full DNA sequence of a cell that contains all the hereditary information. The genome consists of information that is needed to build and maintain the whole living organism. The size of genomes is different from species to species. For example, the human...
