ABSTRACT
Genomics studies the genome of an organism. A genome is the sum total of DNA molecules that harbor all genes of an organism. Thus, genomics studies all the genes of a given cell, tissue, and organism; it studies not only DNA (genome) but also RNA (transcriptome), and protein (proteome) in a context of regulatory network as well as across taxa (evolution). The Ÿeld includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of various organisms and genetic map, using largescale sequencing technology to generate massive, adequate, and high-quality data, by using bioinformatic tools for assembly, annotation, and in-depth analysis. Genomics was initiated in principle by Fred Sanger when he Ÿrst sequenced the complete genomes of a virus and a mitochondrion. A major branch of genomics is still working on sequencing the genomes of various species, but the knowledge of full genomes has created the possibility for the Ÿeld of transcriptomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, function genomics, metagenomics, and system biology. Following is a brief history of genomics.
