What’s the difference between DNA, a genome, and a chromosome?
In: 12
DNA is a chemical. It’s a long chain of simpler units called “nucleotides” (four kinds: Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine) linked together by a sugar (ribose) and phosphate (phosphorous atom with 4 oxygen atoms).
A chromosome is made of two DNA chains that are complementary, meaning they run in opposite directions, and the nucleotides mirror each other (an Adenine on one strand has a Thymine opposite, a Cysteine has a Guanine opposite it).
A genome means “all the genetic material in a cell”. It can mean all the chromosomes / DNA in a specific cell, it can mean all of it in an organism (knowing there may be small differences between cells), or it may mean the DNA found in cells of a particular species (again, with the understanding that there’s differences between individuals).
Latest Answers