genome

[ jee-nohm ]

noun

, Genetics.

1. a full set of chromosomes; all the inheritable traits of an organism.

genome

/ ˈdʒiːnəʊm; dʒɪˈnɒmɪk /

noun

1. the full complement of genetic material within an organism
2. all the genes comprising a haploid set of chromosomes

genome

/ jē′nōm /

1. The total amount of genetic information in the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences. The genome of eukaryotes is made up of a single, haploid set of chromosomes that is contained in the nucleus of every cell and exists in two copies in all cells except reproductive and red blood cells. The human genome is made up of about 20,000 to 25,000 genes.
2. Compare proteome

genome

1. The sum of all information contained in the DNA for any living thing. The sequence of all the nucleotides in all the chromosomes of an organism.

Derived Forms

• genomic, adjective

Other Words From

• ge·no·mic [ji-, noh, -mik, -, nom, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of genome¹

First recorded in 1925–30; from German Genom, from Gen gene + (Chromos)om chromosome

Word History and Origins

Origin of genome¹

C20: from German Genom, from Gen gene + ( chromos ) ome

Example Sentences

The potential scale of the vanished genome and the volume of repeating bits of DNA are “insane,” says Arjan Banerjee, a biologist at the University of Toronto Mississauga also not involved with this study.

From Science News

Researchers used a form of adenovirus that can’t replicate and cause disease, and added the genetic material that encodes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into its genome.

From Popular-Science

Perri and her colleagues used already-sequenced genomes from ancient and modern dogs to calculate when populations had split or interbred, and then they repeated the process with human genomes.

From Ars Technica

Other vertebrates have only one copy of a mitochondrial genome.

From Science News

When the researchers sequenced the tiger rattlesnake’s genome, they found that only about half of the venom-related genes it possessed were actually being used.

From Popular-Science

My old boss, T. Brooks Ellis, the director of the Human Genome Project.

From The Daily Beast

This means that any children he has might have a typical genome, or they might, like him, be symptom-free carriers.

From The Daily Beast

The European Union just granted 1.2 billion euro to the Human Brain Project—a sort of Human Genome Project for the brain.

From The Daily Beast

Federal dollars helped produce such scientific breakthroughs as the human genome project.

From The Daily Beast

Scientists extract complete Neanderthal genome from fossil—97 percent match to A&E programming.

From The Daily Beast

The human genome project is now decoding the genetic mysteries of life.

From Project Gutenberg

Later this year, researchers will complete the first draft of the entire human genome--the very blueprint of life.

From Project Gutenberg