Genomics, the Study of the Organization of Genomes

A genome contains all biological information
required for life and/or reproduction.
The term genomics for the study of genomes
was introduced in 1987 by V. A.McKusick and F.
H. Ruddle at the suggestion of T. H. Roderick of
the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor,Maine, USA.
The term genomics extends beyond genetics.
While the latter mainly deals with heredity and
its mechanism and consequences, the term
genomics encompasses many aspects relating
to molecular and cell biology: the different
types of genomic maps; nucleic acid sequencing;
assembly, storage, and management of
data; gene identification; functional analysis
(functional genomics), evolution of genomes;
and other interdisciplinary areas relating to the
wide variety of genomes in different organisms.
A eukaryotic genome, contained in the chromosomes,
is many times larger than a prokaryote
genome. A prokaryotic genome consists of a
circular chromosome with compactly arranged
genes.