Difference between Genetics and Genomics
Key difference: The study of genetics deals primary with how one trait gets passed along from parent to child, through the generations. The study of genomics deals with the sequencing and analysis of an organism’s genome.
Unless one is in the scientific field or is actively knowledgeable about it, chances are that they may not know the difference about Genetics and Genomics. There may be many people out there that do not even know what those things are.
According to WHO, the “main difference between genomics and genetics is that genetics scrutinizes the functioning and composition of the single gene whereas genomics addresses all genes and their inter relationships in order to identify their combined influence on the growth and development of the organism.”
In the simplest terms, the primary difference between is that genetics refers to the study of genes, whereas genomics refer to the study of genomes. In order to understand the importance of this distinction, one must look at the difference between genes and genomes. Genes refer to the specific sequence of DNA that exists on a single chromosome. One gene encodes a specific product, such as hair color, eye color, etc.
Genome, on the other hand, is different. It refers to the entire genetic information that is stored in the chromosomes. Hence it can be said that the genomes refers to the entire DNA content that is present within one cell of an organism, whereas a gene refers to a specific part of the genome.
The study of genetics deals primary with how one trait gets passed along from parent to child, through the generations. This trait or gene can be traced back through the ancestors who see how it was passed down and who it affected. This can refer to the genetic trait for hair color, eye color, or even skin color, it can also refer to the genetic markers for certain diseases and disorders that may be passed down from parents to children.
The study of genomics deals with the sequencing and analysis of an organism’s genome. It attempts to map the entire genome of an organism and tries to distinguish between the genetic markers to see which one deal with what traits. This information can then be used to understand how and why certain diseases are passed genetically, why and their impact.
Traditionally, the field of genomics has been categorized as being part of genetics.
Comparison between Genetics and Genomics:
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Genetics |
Genomics |
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Description |
The study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms |
Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of science focusing on genomes. A genome is a complete set of DNA within a single cell of an organism. |
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Study |
Study of genes |
Study of genomes |
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Studies |
Gene refers to the specific sequence of DNA on a single chromosome that encodes a specific product |
Genome refers to the entire genetic information across all the chromosomal pairs of the organism |
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Definition (WHO) |
Genetics is the study of heredity. |
Genomics is defined as the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques. |
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Field |
Biology |
Molecular biology, a subset of biology |
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Organisms studies |
Bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. |
Bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. |
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Purpose |
Genes and their roles in inheritance |
The structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes. The study of genes, their functions, and related techniques, such as applications of recombinant DNA, DNA sequencing methods, and bioinformatics to sequence, assemble, and analyze the function and structure of genomes. |
Reference: Wikipedia (Genetics and Genomics), WHO, News Medical (Genetics and Genomics) Image Courtesy: ghr.nlm.nih.gov, venngage.com
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