The transcriptome is the set of all RNA transcripts, including coding and non-coding, in an individual or a population of cells. The term can also sometimes be used to refer to all RNAs, or just mRNA, depending on the particular experiment. The term transcriptome is a portmanteau of the words transcript and genome; it is associated with the process of transcript production during the biological process of transcription.

In genetics, complementary DNA (cDNA) is DNA that was reverse transcribed from an RNA. cDNA exists in both single-stranded and double-stranded forms and in both natural and engineered forms.