The term genomics was coined in 1986 to describe
the mapping, sequencing and analysis of genomes, the
ultimate goal being to understand the structure, function,
organization, relationships, and evolution of
genes. While many sequenced genomes of bacteria
and archaea have been published, there are relatively
few published genome sequences of fungi, although
several draft sequences are available. All the genome
sequences generated by governmental or public funding
bodies are made available on the internet (see
Online resources for a list of sequenced genomes) so
that researchers can compare different genomes and
search for similarities and differences.