ABSTRACT
In order for the cell to utilize the biological information contained within its genome, groups of genes, each gene representing a single unit of information, have to be expressed in a coordinated manner. This coordinated gene expression determines the makeup of the transcriptome, which in turn specifies the nature of the proteome and defines the activities that the cell is able to carry out. In Part III of Genomes, we will examine the events that result in the transfer of biological information from genome to proteome. Our knowledge of these events was initially gained through studies of individual genes, often as naked DNA in test-tube experiments. These experiments provided an interpretation of gene expression that in recent years has been embellished by more sophisticated studies that have taken greater account of the fact that, in reality, it is the genome that is expressed, not individual genes, and this expression occurs in living cells rather than in a test tube.
