Meaning & use
genome
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Meanings
nouncountablebiologytechnical
The full set of genetic material contained in the cells of a living thing.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a genome', 'the human genome', or 'genomes' for more than one species.
Patterns
- the human genome
- sequence a genome
- the genome of something
Scientists finished mapping the human genome in the early 2000s.
Every species has a genome that carries the instructions for building and running its body.
The team compared the genomes of wild and farmed salmon.
nouncountablebiologymedical
The genetic information of a particular individual, especially when studied for medical purposes.
Grammar: Often used with a possessive: 'my genome', 'the patient's genome'.
Patterns
- someone's genome
- analyze a genome
- a person's genome
Doctors can now read a patient's genome to look for disease risks.
Her genome showed a rare variation that explained the condition.
Word forms
| plural | genomes |
|---|
Common combinations
- the human genome
- The human genome contains about three billion base pairs.
- sequence a genome
- It took years to sequence a single genome in the 1990s.
- genome sequencing
- Genome sequencing has become much cheaper and faster.
- the genome of a species
- They studied the genome of a species of desert plant.
- map the genome
- Researchers worked together to map the genome of the fruit fly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- genetic code
- This usually means the system by which DNA instructions are translated into proteins, not the whole collection of DNA; use 'genome' when you mean all the genetic material.
- DNA
- DNA is the molecule itself; the genome is the complete set of DNA in an organism, so 'the human genome' is more precise than 'human DNA' when talking about all the genetic information.
Word family
- genomic adjective
- Relating to a genome, as in 'genomic data' or 'genomic medicine'.
- genomics noun
- The scientific study of genomes and how they work.
Commonly confused: genome or gene? genome or genetics?
genome vs gene
A gene is one small section of DNA that controls a particular feature; the genome is the whole set of genes and other DNA in an organism.
genome vs genetics
Genetics is the field of study; a genome is the actual genetic material inside a living thing.
Practice
The complete set of genetic material in an organism is called its ______.
Choose one answer.
A genome is the entire collection of genetic material. A gene is only one unit, genetics is the science, and genotype is the specific genetic makeup seen in relation to observable traits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “genome”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.