Comparing Genetics and Genomics 

Genomics is part of genetics, the study of genes.

The Strategy  of Classical Genetics:  Geneticists tend to start by studying a single trait, then researching its pattern of inheritance, then finding its gene and locating finding on a chromosome, then cloning the gene, and sequencing the DNA of the gene.

The Strategy of Genomics:  In genomics, the general goal is to first sequence all the DNA of an organism, then identify all the genes, and map the all the gene on the chromosomes, and determine the traits or functions of the genes.

Theme of Genomics 

o Identifying all the genes through DNA sequencing 

o Mapping the location of all the genes on all the chromosomes 

o Figuring out all the functions of the genes and the genes' products 

o Studying when, where & how are genes turned on or off 

o Comparing the genomes of different organisms to analyze which genes are present, which are absent, and how are the genes organized, regulated and expressed.

Genomics and Developmental Biology 

In Developmental Biology, genomics studies what genes are expressed when and where in as an organism develops and grows from a single cell to an adult.

Genomics and Food 

Genomics can battle disease and help feed the world.

All food comes from living things: crops, livestock, microbes.

Food genomics is the genomics of crops, livestock and microbes.

Genomics will give us new insights to how our food grows.

These insights will generate new opportunities for improving how our food grows, tastes, and nourishes us.

Genomics and Food Safety 

Genomics will also help us better understand the disease interactions between humans and foodborne pathogens or toxins, and speed development of ways to detect, diagnose, treat, cure or prevent foodborne diseases.

For example, researchers first sequenced all 4,288 genes in the harmless lab strain K12 of the E. coli bacterium.

Then they sequenced the harmful foodborne O157:H7 strain.

Each gene unique to the harmful strain is a potential target for diagnosis and drugs to fight O157:H7.

Furthermore, by combining knowledge from microbial genomics and knowledge of the human genome, researchers will be able to speed our understanding of how humans respond to infection by the bacterium.

Small, Fast, Simple & Cheap:  An Example from Plant Genomics  

Arabidopsis thaliana will be the first plant genome to be sequenced.

Although itās not a crop plant, Arabidopsis is a great model plant.

Tools, strategies and insights from Arabidopsis will make it easier, faster and cheaper to complete the sequence and analysis of the genomes of major crops such as rice, corn, wheat & potatoes.

Genomics will help us better know how crops grow.

Techniques from genomics will likely help speed the work of plant breeders in finding and selecting not just single genes, but entire groups of plant genes that are important in improving crops.

Functional Genomics 

How do you figure out what a single gene does?  How do you figure out what 20,000 genes do? 

One way is by analogy:  researchers can get an idea of what a gene's function may be by comparing the sequence of a new gene to a related gene that has a known function.

Another way is by systematically "knocking out" a gene to ask, "What function gets screwed up when this gene gets knocked out?"  This is like the sytematic trouble-shooting used by plumbers or electricians or mechanics to figure out what function a particular part plays in a piece of equipment.

A third way is by studying patterns of gene expression.