Changes

A '''genome''' is all the [[hereditary]] information held by an [[organism]]. This includes both expressed and non-expressed genetic [[information]]. In most organisms, it is stored in [[DNA]]; however, [[retrovirus]]es store it in [[RNA]], another type of [[nucleic acid]].  The information is encoded in the form of triplets of organic molecules called [[nucleotides]].  

A '''genome''' is all the [[hereditary]] information held by an [[organism]]. This includes both expressed and non-expressed genetic [[information]]. In most organisms, it is stored in [[DNA]]; however, [[retrovirus]]es store it in [[RNA]], another type of [[nucleic acid]].  The information is encoded in the form of triplets of organic molecules called [[nucleotides]].  

[[Eukaryotic cell|Eukaryote]]s (including humans) have two types of genomic material:

[[Eukaryotic cell|Eukaryote]]s (including humans) have the following types of genomic material:

# the [[Nucleus|nuclear]] genome: Information found inside the nucleus of a cell.

# the [[Nucleus|nuclear]] genome: Information found inside the nucleus of a cell.

# the [[mitochondria]]l genome: Information found in the [[mitochondria]]<ref>http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3580</ref> (this separate genome is used as evidence for the [[endosymbiotic hypothesis]], although it can also be explained by creationist models).

# the [[mitochondria]]l genome: Information found in the [[mitochondria]]<ref>http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3580</ref>  

# plants also have the [[chloroplast]] genome (human and animals obviously do not).

 

Chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes are somewhat remotely similar to the genomes of the independent organisms (while significantly smaller by size and number of genes). These separate genomes are used as evidence for the [[endosymbiotic hypothesis]], although they can also be explained by creationist models. Most of the genetic information is stored in the nuclear genome, where also many mitochondrial and chloroplast proteins are encoded.

 

In addition, organisms often inherit other material from their parents, such as proteins, RNA molecules, and other chromosomal factors like methyl groups attached to certain base pairs. These are regarded as the purview of [[epigenetics]].

In addition, organisms often inherit other material from their parents, such as proteins, RNA molecules, and other chromosomal factors like methyl groups attached to certain base pairs. These are regarded as the purview of [[epigenetics]].