Existing Wording: Because DNA, RNA and even amino acid sequences can be exceptionally long - and are typically mostly the same for a given type of organism or protein - reporting is typically done on the basis of variations between the tested specimen and a reference specimen rather than as a complete enumeration of the whole sequence.

Proposed Wording: Because DNA, RNA and even amino acid, sequences can be exceptionally long - and are virtually the samefor long stretches within a given species - reporting is typically done on the basis of differences between the sequence observed in the tested specimen and the sequence in a reference sequence. Such differences are called variations. They are not usually reported a a complete enumeration of the whole sequence of interest.

Comment:

These differences are called variations for the ease of intrepretation by the receiver. Think the word protein may misconstrue - proteomics is a whole different area.

Summary:

Inserted text to clarify reporting on sequences