Using genome projects

• What is the genome?

  The complete set of genetic information contained in the cells of an organism
• What is the genome sequencing?

  • Identifying the DNA base sequence of an individual
  • This allows us to determine the amino acid sequence of the polypeptides coded for by that DNA
• What is the proteome?

  The complete set of proteins that can be produced by a cell
• Can we directly translate the genome into the proteome?

  • In simple organisms, yes
  • In complex organisms, due to the presence of non-coding DNA and regulatory genes, it is much harder to obtain the proteome
• Give an application of sequencing the proteome in simple organisms

  Identifying potential antigens for use in vaccine production
• Give some applications of genome sequencing

  • Comparing genomes between species to determine evolutionary relationships
  • Genetic matching
  • Personalised medicine
  • Synthetic biology
• How have sequencing methods changed over time?

  • Used to be a manual process, however now it has become automated
  • A reaction mixture is created and after the process is complete, a machine reads the base sequence