What Is a Genome?

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...

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Main Authors: Aaron David Goldman, Laura F Landweber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-07-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006181&type=printable
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author Aaron David Goldman
Laura F Landweber
author_facet Aaron David Goldman
Laura F Landweber
author_sort Aaron David Goldman
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-61b25d97d4d84d7c91ef6d79f8d8b2df2025-08-20T03:11:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042016-07-01127e100618110.1371/journal.pgen.1006181What Is a Genome?Aaron David GoldmanLaura F LandweberThe 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.https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006181&type=printable
spellingShingle Aaron David Goldman
Laura F Landweber
What Is a Genome?
PLoS Genetics
title What Is a Genome?
title_full What Is a Genome?
title_fullStr What Is a Genome?
title_full_unstemmed What Is a Genome?
title_short What Is a Genome?
title_sort what is a genome
url https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006181&type=printable
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