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Definition of Genomics and Bioinformatics- The term genome was introduced by H. Winkler in 1920 to denote the complete set of chromosomal and extra chromosomal genes present in an organism, including a virus. This term is used in the same sense even today. The term genomics was coined by T.H. Roderick sometime in 1987 mean mapping and sequencing to analyze the structure and organization of genomes.

But today genomics includes sequencing of genomes, determination of the complete set of proteins encoded by an organism, and the functioning of genes and metabolic pathways in an organism. Thus genomics not only deals with the determination of the genetic information present in an organism, but also with the understanding the mechanism by which this information is used by the organism.

The information generated in genomics is enormous. Interpretation and management of this information requires the use of powerful computers and specific software. Bioinformatics is an emerging field concerned with the development and application of computer hardware and software to the acquisition, storage, analysis, and visualization of biological information.

Databases for the storage and analysis of genomic information are now essential tools for geneticists. Proteomics is the study of gene products encoded by a genome, including a list of which genes are expressed, the time of their expression, the type and extent of any post translational modification / of the gene product, the function of the encoded protein, and its location in various cellular compartments.

The discipline of genomics is often divided into the following two domains:

(1) structural genomics and

(2) functional genomics. Structural genomics deals with the determination of the complete sequence of genomes or the complete set of proteins produced by an organism.

This has progressed in steps as follows:

(1) construction of high resolution genetic and physical maps,

(2) sequencing of the genome, and

(3) determination of the complete set of proteins in an organism. Often it also includes determination of three dimensional structures of the concerned proteins. The functional genomics, on the other hand, studies the functioning of genes and metabolic pathways, i.e., the gene expression patterns in organisms.

   
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