Genome size is the total amount of DNA contained within one copy of a single genome. It is typically measured in terms of mass in picograms (trillionths (10−12) of a gram, abbreviated pg) or less frequently in Daltons or as the total number of nucleotide base pairs typically in megabases (millions of base pairs, abbreviated Mb or Mbp). One picogram equals 978 megabases. In diploid organisms, genome size is used interchangeably with the term C-value. An organism's complexity is not directly proportional to its genome size; some single cell organisms have much more DNA than humans (see Junk DNA and C-value enigma).
Read more about Genome Size: Origin of The Term, Variation in Genome Size and Gene Content, Genome Reduction, Conversion From Picograms (pg) To Base Pairs (bp)
Famous quotes containing the word size:
“In mathematics he was greater
Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater:
For he, by geometric scale,
Could take the size of pots of ale;
Resolve, by sines and tangents straight,
If bread and butter wanted weight;
And wisely tell what hour o’ th’ day
The clock doth strike, by algebra.”
—Samuel Butler (1612–1680)