1. Plural of exome; the collective set of all exons in an organism's genome, representing the protein-coding sequences.
Usage: technical; genetics; molecular biology

Examples

• Researchers sequenced the exomes of thousands of patients to identify disease-causing mutations.
• Exome sequencing is less expensive than whole-genome sequencing because it focuses only on coding regions.
• The study compared exomes from healthy individuals with those from people with rare genetic disorders.
• Exomes make up only about 1-2% of the human genome but contain most known disease-associated variants.
• Scientists used exome data to discover new genes linked to heart disease.