Which term describes the complete genetic content of an organism?

• A. Genotype
• B. Genome
• C. Proteome
• D. Transcriptome

Answer: (B)

The main idea is identifying the term that means the organism’s entire genetic content. The genome is the complete set of genetic material present in an organism or cell, including nuclear DNA as well as any organelle DNA such as mitochondria or chloroplasts, and it encompasses both coding regions (genes) and noncoding regions. This is why it best fits “the complete genetic content.”

Genotype, on the other hand, refers to the specific genetic makeup at particular loci or the collection of alleles an individual has, not the entire genome. The proteome is the full array of proteins that can be produced from the genome, reflecting gene expression and post-translational modifications rather than the genetic content itself. The transcriptome covers all RNA transcripts produced, giving a picture of gene expression at a given time, but it is still a subset of the genome’s information, not the complete genetic content.

So the genome is the correct term because it denotes the entire genetic material that an organism carries.