What is the term for the sum total of all the genes carried by an individual?

What is the term for the sum total of all the genes carried by an individual?

• A. Genome
• B. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• C. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
• D. Ancient DNA

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that the genome is the complete set of genetic material an individual carries. It includes all genes as well as the noncoding sequences that regulate and organize those genes, spread across the nuclear genome and, separately, the mitochondria. This makes the genome the full complement of an organism’s genetic content. The other options aren’t about the whole gene set: PCR is a lab method to copy DNA; mitochondrial DNA refers only to the small set of genes in mitochondria; ancient DNA is DNA recovered from ancient samples. So the term that best fits “the sum total of all the genes carried by an individual” is genome.

The main idea here is that the genome is the complete set of genetic material an individual carries. It includes all genes as well as the noncoding sequences that regulate and organize those genes, spread across the nuclear genome and, separately, the mitochondria. This makes the genome the full complement of an organism’s genetic content. The other options aren’t about the whole gene set: PCR is a lab method to copy DNA; mitochondrial DNA refers only to the small set of genes in mitochondria; ancient DNA is DNA recovered from ancient samples. So the term that best fits “the sum total of all the genes carried by an individual” is genome.