Synopsis
The ability of living cells to continue depends on their ability to divide and produce either exact copies of themselves or programmed variations; they thus require a repository of knowledge for doing so. This repository is their genes, composed in cells of DNA and in aggregate referred to as their genome. The mechanism by which this DNA is duplicated is treated in Section I, DNA Replication. Here the concern is with its organization and function. These facets, organization and function, differ among the different repository levels (nuclei, organelles – mitochondria and chloroplasts – plasmids, and viruses) and are dealt with individually in each appropriate section. Major differences include the number of chromosomes (multiple chromosomes in eukaryotic nuclei, single chromosomes typically in organelles, plasmids, and DNA viruses), the number of genome copies (two in nuclei, hundreds to thousands in mitochondria and chloroplasts, various numbers >2 for plasmids and viruses),...
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Grossman, L.I. (2018). Genes and Genomes: Structure. In: Wells, R.D., Bond, J.S., Klinman, J., Masters, B.S.S. (eds) Molecular Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1531-2_99
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1531-2_99
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