How the genome is divided into chromosomes also differs from one eukaryotic species to the next. For example, while the cells of humans have 46 chromosomes, those of some small deer have only 6, while those of the common carp contain over 100. Even closely related species with similar genome sizes can have very different numbers and sizes of chromosomes (Figure 4–14). Thus, there is no simple relationship between chromosome number, complexity of the organism, and total genome size. Rather, the genomes and chromosomes of modern-day species have each been shaped by a unique history of seemingly random genetic events, acted on by poorly understood selection pressures over long evolutionary times.
The Nucleotide Sequence of the Human genome Shows How Our genes Are Arranged
With the publication of the full DNA sequence of the human genome in 2004, it became possible to see in detail how the genes are arranged along each of our chromosomes (Figure 4–15). It will be many decades before the information contained in the human genome sequence is fully analyzed, but it has already stimulated new experiments that have had major effects on the content of every chapter in this book.
(A) human chromosome 22 in its mitotic conformation, composed of two double-stranded DNA molecules, each 48 ×106 nucleotide pairs long 10% of chromosome arm ~40 genes (B) ×10 1% of chromosome arm containing 4 genes (C) one gene of 3.4 ×104 nucleotide pairs (D) exon intron
Figure 4–14 Two closely related species of deer with very different chromosome numbers. In the evolution of the Indian muntjac, initially separate chromosomes fused, without having a major effect on the animal. These two species contain a similar number of genes. (Chinese muntjac photo courtesy of Deborah Carreno, Natural wonders Photography.)
Figure 4–15 The organization of genes on a human chromosome. (A) Chromosome 22, one of the smallest human chromosomes, contains 48 × 106 nucleotide pairs and makes up approximately 1.5% of the human genome. most of the left arm of chromosome 22 consists of short repeated sequences of DNA that are packaged in a particularly compact form of chromatin (heterochromatin) discussed later in this chapter. (b) A tenfold expansion of a portion of chromosome 22, with about 40 genes indicated. Those in dark brown are known genes and those in red are predicted genes. (C) An expanded portion of (b) showing four genes. (D) The intron–exon arrangement of a typical gene is shown after a further tenfold expansion. Each exon (red) codes for a portion of the protein, while the DNA sequence of the introns (gray) is relatively unimportant, as discussed in detail in Chapter 6.
The human genome (3.2 × 109 nucleotide pairs) is the totality of genetic information belonging to our species. Almost all of this genome is distributed over the 22 different autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes (see Figures 4–10 and 4–11) found within the nucleus. A minute fraction of the human genome (16,569 nucleotide pairs—in multiple copies per cell) is found in the mitochondria (introduced in Chapter 1, and discussed in detail in Chapter 14). The term human genome sequence refers to the complete nucleotide sequence of DNA in the 24 nuclear chromosomes and the mitochondria. being diploid, a human somatic cell nucleus contains roughly twice the haploid amount of DNA, or 6.4 × 109 nucleotide pairs, when not duplicating its chromosomes in preparation for division. (Adapted from International Human genome Sequencing Consortium, Nature 409:860–921, 2001. with permission from macmillan Publishers ltd.)