GENOME

GENOME

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Amid rising concerns about new SARS-CoV2 variants and a surge in Covid-19 cases, the government plans to add 17 laboratories to the INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia) network to test genome

Concept :

What is a Genome?

• Every organism’s genetic code is contained in its Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), the building blocks of life.
• The discovery that DNA is structured as a “double helix” by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, started the quest for understanding how genes dictate life, its traits, and what causes diseases.
• A genome is all the genetic matter in an organism. It is defined as “an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.
• Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism.
• In humans, a copy of the entire genome contains more than 3 billion DNA base pairs.