genome

American  

[jee-nohm] / ˈdʒi noʊm /

Also genom

noun

Genetics.

• genomes
  plural

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

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genome British  

/ ˈdʒiːnəʊm /

noun

1. the full complement of genetic material within an organism

2. all the genes comprising a haploid set of chromosomes

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genome Scientific  

/ 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

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genome Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• genomic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• genomes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of genome

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

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Explanation

The human genome is the map of your DNA, the double helix that contains all your genes. Your genome is all the genetic material contained in your 23 pairs of chromosomes, a total of more than 20,000 genes. Every organism has its own unique genome. "The Human Genome Project," completed in 2003, was an international effort to identify all the genes in human DNA and to determine the sequences of the 3 billion (yes, billion) base pairs — the smaller units that make up DNA. It took 13 years. Genome research has helped diagnose disease and find genetic markers for certain diseases.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

genome genomes

They also cultivated spores under laboratory conditions to examine the fungus's physical characteristics and sequenced its genome, including its protein-coding genes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

The discovery challenges a traditional view of genome architecture as something that primarily changes in response to evolution.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

By establishing new connections among existing genetic elements, the genome may develop different patterns of gene activity while keeping crucial biological systems intact.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

These domains help organize DNA into broad sections within the cell, and their persistence suggests that some features of genome architecture are strongly conserved.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

But that ended in 2010, when the results of a four-year effort to map the Neanderthal genome were published.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Our genomes are not the product of a single unbroken lineage emerging from Africa.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

The researchers found evidence that cephalopod genomes underwent an extensive period of reorganization hundreds of millions of years ago.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The work was carried out through the Bat1K consortium, a global effort dedicated to sequencing the genomes of all living bat species and co-founded by UCD Professor Emma Teeling.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

The study, published in Nature, examined 103 bat genomes, including 42 newly generated chromosome-level assemblies, covering all 21 recognized bat families.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Our genomes are catalogues of instructions from all kinds of sources in nature, filed for all kinds of contingencies.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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