| Genomics
is rapidly becoming a multifaceted sub-discipline of biology, and aims
to understand: (1)
the molecular organization and (2) information content of the
entire genome (= the collection of all the
genes in a gamete, or the haploid set of chromosomes) and its gene
products (the transcriptome and proteome
-- see below).1 Genomics
includes the development and application of new mapping, sequencing, and
computational procedures for the (molecular) analysis of the entire
genome.2 Genomics
has 3 distinct subfields: (a) Structural genomics = the genetic and
physical mapping, and sequencing of entire genomes, (b) Functional
genomics = the analysis of gene (and non-gene) sequences, particularly
all those genes that make RNA (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, snRNA, etc.), or the transcriptome,
and all those genes that make only mRNA for translation into protein, or
the proteome, (c) comparative genomics =
the comparison of entire genomes from different organisms to understand
functional and evolutionary relationships.2
1.
An Introduction to Genetic Analysis by A.J.F. Griffiths, J.H.
Miller, D.T. Suzuki, R.C. Lewontin, and W.M. Gelbart. 2000. Ch. 14, p.
436. W.H. Freeman and Co., Publishers. |