genome
A genome is the complete set of genetic information in an organism. It provides all of the information the organism requires to function. In living organisms, the genome is stored in long molecules of DNA called chromosomes. Small sections of DNA, called genes, code for the RNA and protein molecules required by the organism. In eukaryotes, each cell's genome is contained within a membrane-bound structure called the nucleus. Prokaryotes, which contain no inner membranes, store their genome in a region of the cytoplasm called the nucleoid. The full range of RNA molecules expressed by a genome is known as its transcriptome, and the full assortment of proteins produced by the genome is called its proteome.
There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human genome. Between 1990 and 2003, all twenty-three pairs were fully sequenced through an international research undertaking known as the Human Genome Project. The study and analysis of genomes is called genomics.
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