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Section 1.1: Introduction

  • Page ID
    140884
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    Learning Objectives
    • Define genes, genome, chromosomes and karyotype
    • Explain how DNA carries and maintains genetic information
    • Describe DNA sequencing and genomics
    • Discuss how genomics can be useful for fields such as conservation biology, forensic science and epidemiology

    genetic-individuality--male-body-with-dna-548001023-59f9d183af5d3a0010859452.jpg

     

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Human Genome Project (HGP) made a map of the genes of a human being. (Copyright; author via source)


    We are living in the “Post-genomic era”  in which you can pay a company like “23 and Me” or “Ancestry” $100-200, spit into a tube, and in about two months, find out everything you need to know about your ancestry, genetic traits, risks for getting certain genetic diseases, etc. These advances would not be possible without the efforts of scientists across the world studying human genetics and genomics. The US National Institute of Health (NIH) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 1990, an international consortium with participating scientists from the UK, France, Australia, China, Germany, etc. aimed at sequencing the entire human genome. Scientists started out mapping the human genome (Figure 1), by determining the locations of many genes on the 23 haploid chromosomes. They then determined the nucleotide sequences of the genes (called coding sequences) and other non-coding sequences in the genome. The project took 13 years (completed in 2003), and provided the first blueprint of the human genome.

    Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    If the human haploid genome (1 set of genetic material that you inherit from one parent, 23 chromosomes) contains about 3 billion (3 X 10^9) nucleotides, 0.1% of the genome corresponds to how many base pairs?

    Solution

    To do this calculation, 

    Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

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    Answer

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    ADAPT \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Human Genome Project (HGP) made a map of the genes of a human being. (Copyright; author via source)


    Section 1.1: Introduction is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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