Genome

Genomes, 2nd Edition, 2002, by T.A. Brown

1.1.1 Genes are made of DNA

• Human nuclear genome:
  • total 3.2 x 10^9 nucleotides
  • 22 autosomal chromosomes and two sex chromosomes, length between 50x10^6 nucleotides and 260x10^6 nucleotides
  • somatic nuclei contain 2 of each autosomal chromosome and two sex chromosomes, for a total of 46
• Mitochondrial genome:
  • circular DNA with 16,569 nucleotides
  • each mitochondrion carries around 10 of these circular DNAs, and each cell carries about 800 mitochondria
• The DNA molecule is acidic and rich in phosphorus

1.1.2 Structure of DNA