What is a genome?

A genome is 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—more than 3 billion DNA base pairs—is contained in all cells that have a nucleus.

For more information about genomes:

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science provides background information about the human genome in its fact sheet The Science Behind the Human Genome Project.

The NCBI Science Primer offers more detailed information about the structure and function of the human genome in the chapter called What Is A Genome?

Next: What was the Human Genome Project and why has it been important?