The full complement of RNA transcripts of the genes of a cell or organism. The types and relative abundance of different transcripts, i.e. the messenger RNAs (mRNAs), can be obtained by analysing cell contents using oligonucleotide microarrays. Alternatively, the RNA is isolated from cells, fragmented, reverse transcribed into complementary DNA, and subject to shotgun sequencing (see RNA sequencing). Either method potentially can provide a ‘snapshot’ of the expression pattern of the cell’s genes. See transcriptomics.