genome

noun

ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm 

: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain

broadly : the genetic material of an organism compare proteome

Examples of genome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Influenza may be the world’s most familiar viral pathogen—its genome, virulence, and transmission patterns have been studied for decades. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 5 May 2024

Read More: Scientists Reveal the Black Death’s Origin Story Hopping From Squirrel to Human Recreating the genomes of the four medieval strains of M. leprae and reconstructing their genetic relationships, the team found that the strains belonged to the same familial branch of M. leprae bacteria. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

German Genom, from Gen gene + -om (as in Chromosom chromosome)

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing genome

• genome editing

Medical Definition

genome

noun

ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm 

: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain

broadly : the genetic material of an organism

The idea behind sequencing an organism's genome—decoding, letter by letter, the message contained in every last one of its genes—is that it would tell us a lot about how the organism works.

—Lori Oliwenstein, Discover