What is a Genome?

Abstract

The genome is often described as the information repository of an organism. Whether millions or billions of letters of DNA, its transmission across generations confers the principal medium for inheritance of organismal traits. Several emerging areas of research demonstrate that this definition is an oversimplification. Here, we explore ways in which a deeper understanding of genomic diversity and cell physiology is challenging the concepts of physical permanence attached to the genome as well as its role as the sole information source for an organism.

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Publication Date

7-21-2016

Publication Title

PLoS Gentics

Department

Biology

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006181

Keywords

Deoxyribonucleic-acid, Epigenetic regulation, DNA, Oxytricha, Morphology, Virus

Language

English

Format

text

Link to Full Text

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