VPB 321: Animal Biotechnology (2+1)

GENOME SEQUENCING

• Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome—the order of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts that make up an organism's DNA. The human genome is made up of over 3 billion of these genetic letters.
• Full genome sequencing (FGS), also known as whole genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is a laboratory process that determines the complete DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a single time.
• This entails sequencing all of an organism's chromosomal DNA as well as DNA contained in the mitochondria and for plants the chloroplast as well.
• Almost any biological sample—even a very small amount of DNA or ancient DNA—can provide the genetic material necessary for full genome sequencing.
• Such samples may include saliva, epithelial cells, bone marrow, hair (as long as the hair contains a hair follicle), seeds, plant leaves, or anything else that has DNA-containing cells.
• Because the sequence data that is produced can be quite large (for example, there are approximately six billion base pairs in each human diploid genome), genomic data is stored electronically and requires a large amount of computing power and storage capacity.