A gene is one part of a genome. A genome is the collection of all the genes in a single organism. Each gene can be broken down into important parts: A promoter, coding region, and terminator.

Parts of a Gene

A gene is one part of a genome. A genome is the collection of all the genes in a single organism. Promoter: The promoter of a gene contains information about when to turn the gene on or off. Coding region: This is the part of the gene that gets "translated" into a protein. Most genes are translated into a protein, but not all. Terminator: The terminator is the signal that stops translation of the gene.

A gene is one part of a genome. A genome is the collection of all the genes in a single organism. In eukaryotic cells genes also contain introns and exons. Intron: Introns are streches of DNA inside the gene that do NOT get translated into protein. Exon: Exons are genetic material that is translated into the final protein.

About the site: I developed geneticsalive.com as a companion website to cellsalive.com. Everything a cell does is a direct result of the genetics of that cell, whether it is a single-cell organism or part of a much larger organism. Thus, understanding the cells requires an understanding of the basis of all of their behaviors. About the author: I am a microbiologist studying microbial pathogenesis and the host immune response. My studies have included work in many pathogens including Rabies and Influenza viruses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Francisella tularensis, and Salmonella enterica. I currently live just outside of Philadelphia, PA, where I work as a postdoctoral fellow researching antigen processing and presentation during rabies infection. My email is always open for suggestions, corrections, or any other comments. Please feel free to contact me: geneticsalive@gmail.com