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Genome Annotation and Assembly

Genome Annotation and Assembly

The genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism. It can range from a few million base pairs in microbial cells to several billion base pairs in many eukaryotic organisms. Genome assembly refers to the process of taking the DNA sequencing data and putting it all back together in a correct order to create a close representation of the original genome. This is followed by the identification of functional elements on the newly assembled genome, a process called genome annotation.

Genomics

Genomics

Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.

Sanger Sequencing

Sanger Sequencing

DNA sequencing is a fundamental technique that is routinely used in the biological sciences. This method can be applied to a range of questions at different scales - from the sequencing of a cloned DNA fragment or the study of a mutation in a gene up to whole-genome sequencing. However, despite the widespread use of sequencing today, it was not until 1977 that Fredrick Sanger and his collaborators developed the chain-termination method to decode DNA sequences. It relies on the separation of a...

Genomic DNA in Eukaryotes

Genomic DNA in Eukaryotes

Eukaryotes have large genomes compared to prokaryotes. To fit their genomes into a cell, eukaryotic DNA is packaged extraordinarily tightly inside the nucleus. To achieve this, DNA is tightly wound around proteins called histones, which are packaged into nucleosomes that are joined by linker DNA and coil into chromatin fibers. Additional fibrous proteins further compact the chromatin, which is recognizable as chromosomes during certain phases of cell division.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms

Published on: May 25, 2018

Beyond editing to writing large genomes.

Raj Chari¹, George M Church²

¹Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA.

Nature Reviews. Genetics

|August 31, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Recent advances in genome sequencing and engineering allow us to study DNA variation

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Last Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms

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Published on: May 25, 2018

Ultra-long Read Sequencing for Whole Genomic DNA Analysis

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Efficient PAM-Less Base Editing for Zebrafish Modeling of Human Genetic Disease with zSpRY-ABE8e

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Published on: February 17, 2023

Area of Science:

Synthetic biology
Genomics
Molecular biology

Background:

Exponential advances in genome sequencing and engineering technologies.
Enabled unprecedented interrogation of DNA variation (genotype) on cellular function (phenotype).
Prompted realistic discussion of writing and radically re-writing complex genomes.

Purpose of the Study:

Detail the motivation for large-scale genome engineering.
Discuss progress in bacterial and yeast genome engineering projects.
Describe how genome-engineering technologies contribute to large-scale genome writing.

Main Methods:

Review of recent advances in genome sequencing and engineering.
Analysis of progress in large-scale genome engineering projects in model organisms.
Description of various genome-engineering technologies.

Main Results:

Demonstrated unprecedented level of interrogation into genotype-phenotype relationships.
Highlighted progress in engineering bacterial and yeast genomes.
Identified key genome-engineering technologies for future efforts.

Conclusions:

Large-scale genome engineering is becoming increasingly feasible.
A roadmap is provided to facilitate the efficient writing of large genomes.
An ideal platform for large-scale genome writing is described.