How Many Genomes Have Been Sequenced?

There are several types of genome sequence. Some are relatively incomplete and they don't really count. Others have been thoroughly sequenced and we have a good permanent draft sequence. The best ones are the "finished" genome sequences where the preliminary drafts have been checked and gaps have been filled.

How many "finished" or permanent draft complete genome sequences have been published?

How many of them are eukaryotes?

Here are the answers from: GOLD

(Apologies for the Three Domain influence.)

Archaea: 181
Bacteria: 3762
Eukaryotes: 183

Why are there so few eukaryotes? Because many eukaryotic genomes are very large and it takes a lot more work to sequence that much DNA. Furthermore, many eukaryotic genomes are full of junk DNA and it's difficult to sequence and assemble repetitive regions in order to get a complete chromosome. The bottom line is money—for most labs it's too expensive to sequence the genome of their favorite eukaryote but it can be quite cheap these days to sequence a bacterial genome.

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[Hat Tip: Jonathan Eisen]

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