Genomics is the study of the genetic information encoded by all the nucleotides possessed by an organism. For oceanographers, genomics provides detailed information on the many genes that drive biogeochemical activities of ocean-dwelling microbes. Carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation, sulfur gas formation, CO₂ production, and many other critical processes are underlain by the collective action of genes inside individual microbial cells in the ocean environment. In essence, genomics provides access to those genes and serves as an important step toward understanding their role in the ocean environment.

Moran, M.A., and E.V. Armbrust. 2007. Genomes of sea microbes. Oceanography 20(2):47–55, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2007.47.

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