Genome Size - Origin of The Term

Origin of The Term

The term "genome size" is often erroneously attributed to Hinegardner, even in discussions dealing specifically with terminology in this area of research (e.g., Greilhuber, 2005). Notably, Hinegardner used the term only once: in the title. The term actually seems to have first appeared in 1968 when Hinegardner wondered, in the last paragraph of his article, whether "cellular DNA content does, in fact, reflect genome size". In this context, "genome size" was being used in the sense of genotype to mean the number of genes. In a paper submitted only two months later (in February 1969), Wolf et al. (1969) used the term "genome size" throughout and in its present usage; therefore these authors should probably be credited with originating the term in its modern sense. By the early 1970s, "genome size" was in common usage with its present definition, probably as a result of its inclusion in Susumu Ohno's influential book Evolution by Gene Duplication, published in 1970.