What does mapping an organism’s genome mean, and how is it useful?
In: Biology
The genome is all the genetic information encoded in DNA (or RNA in certain viruses) in the cells of an organism. In animals, this genetic information (encoded in DNA) is organised into chromosomes.
Mapping the genome of any organism is simply ‘reading’ and documenting every single ‘letter’, or base (or to be precise, nucleotide), in the organism’s genome.
This is useful as it can tell us exactly how the organism functions at a molecular level – e.g. how its immune system functions, how its metabolism functions, how development from embryo to adult (in animals) is regulated, how its reproductive system functions etc etc.
It is useful if the organism is valuable to us – e.g. humans, livestock – as it can help us to understand the mechanisms of diseases that we wish to treat and prevent.
It is also useful in disease causing organisms as it can help us to understand in more detail the mechanisms by which the pathogen survives, infects cells and reproduces. We can then use this information to guide the design of new treatments and vaccines.
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