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The term 'functional genomics' is widely used, but has many different interpretations.
One possible definition
of Functional Genomics:
Development and application of global (genome-wide
or system-wide) experimental approaches to assess gene function by making
use of the information and reagents provided by structural genomics.
Some authors describe
the characteristics of Functional Genomics as follows:
"[Functional
genomics] is characterized by high throughput or large-scale
experimental
methodologies combined with statistical and computational analysis of the
results. The fundamental strategy in a functional genomics approach
is to expand the scope of biological investigation from studying
single
genes or proteins to studying all genes
or proteins at once in a systematic fashion. Computational biology
will perform a critical and expanding role in this area: whereas structural
genomics has been characterized by data management, functional genomics
will be characterized by mining the data sets for particularly valuable
information. Functional genomics promises to rapidly narrow the gap
between sequence and function and to yield new insights into the behavior
of biological systems."
In brief, the "central belief embedded in functional genomics is that the complete sequence of the genomes of many organisms, including humans, will change the way we do biology" towards a more holistic view of biological systems which is significantly different from the classical idea of investigating 'one (or a few) gene at a time'.