denovo

**De Novo**

De novo refers to the process of generating new genetic material or biological sequences without relying on prior genetic information. This concept is most commonly associated with two distinct biological phenomena:

In genetics, de novo mutations are spontaneous changes in the DNA sequence that occur in an individual’s germ cells or early embryonic cells, rather than being inherited from parents. These mutations can arise due to errors during DNA replication, exposure to mutagens, or other random genetic events. While most de novo mutations are neutral or harmful, some may contribute to genetic diversity, disease, or evolutionary adaptations. For example, certain de novo mutations in genes like *BRCA1* or *RAS* are linked to increased cancer risk.

In computational biology, de novo sequence assembly is a technique used to reconstruct unknown DNA, RNA, or protein sequences from short-read sequencing data without a reference genome. This method is particularly valuable in studying highly diverse organisms, such as microbes or newly discovered species, where traditional reference-based assembly is impractical. Advances in sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools have improved the accuracy and efficiency of de novo assembly, enabling researchers to assemble complex genomes from fragmented data.

The term also appears in other contexts, such as de novo synthesis of organic compounds in chemistry or the creation of entirely new biological systems in synthetic biology, though these applications are less common in mainstream scientific discourse.