M+C 7 genomes Flashcards
what is a genome?
the complete set of genes in an organism or the total genetic content in one set of chromosomes
what does genomics study?
whole sets of genes and their interactions
what is Comparative genomics?
analysis and comparison of genomes from different species
how long ago was the first genome sequenced?
15 years ago
why is it important to study crop and animal genomes?
crops - economically important
animals - evolutionary important
sizes of genomes vary but the size doesn’t indicate….?
the complexity of the organism and the number of genes is not correlated to genome size
in bacterial genomes DNA consists mostly of genes coding for what?
proteins, tRNA, rRNA
what is the majority of eukaryotic DNA coded for?
nothing, eukaryotes have introns (non coding DNA)
what is internecine DNA?
non coding DNA found between genes
what are pseudogenes?
former genes that have accumulated mutations and are non functional
what are 5 important things to look for when comparing genomes?
1) sequence similarity
2) gene location
3) the length and number of coding regions within genes
4) the amount of non coding DNA
5) highly conserved regions in both simple and complex organisms
what is an ortholog?
gene that occurs in different species that evolved from a common ancestral gene by speciation
what is a homolog?
same gene within a species
what are 3 consequences of unlocking genomes?
1) identifying sources of diseases e.g. cancer
2) insurance companies getting hold of this info
3) revolutionising medicine with drug therapies
