What is Metabolomics?
Metabolomics, genomics, proteomics, and other “-omics” grew out of the Human Genome Project, a massive research effort that began in the mid-1990s and culminated in 2003 with a complete mapping of all the genes in the human body. Scientists believe there are 30,000 to 40,000 genes in the human body. A gene is a piece of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). About 99.9 percent of the DNA sequence is identical in all people, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). But the 0.1 percent difference is critical because it represents the genetic variations that determine a person’s risk for getting a disease, how mild or severe the disease will be, and how he or she will respond to a treatment. While genomics researchers are searching for variations in genes that cause disease, and proteomics researchers are seeking out abnormal protein patterns, metabolomic researchers are mining for abnormal metabolite patterns. Metabolites are generated through metabolism–all the chemical
Metabolomics is a new branch in analytical biochemistry that is related to metabolism — the process of converting food energy into mechanical energy or heat. The byproducts of metabolism, known as metabolites, are produced in biological samples such as urine, saliva and blood plasma. Metabolomics refers to the study of these metabolite profiles as produced in biological samples. In the case of plant biology, specific tissue samples are used for metabolite profiling. Metabolomics grew along with genomics and proteomics from the mid 1990s as an outcome of the Human Genome Project, a project aimed at mapping the human gene system. Cell activity processes such as cell signaling, energy transfer, and cell-to-cell communication are controlled by metabolites. The metabolome is a collection of all metabolites in a cell at a certain point in time. Humans have many kinds of cells with different metabolomes, but metabolomics deals with the study of metabolites with low-molecular-weight such as li
Metabolomics is the study of metabolite profiles or patterns in biological samples. The origins of these biological samples include extracts, mixtures, cells, tissues & body fluids from plants, bacteria, parasites, animals and humans. There are estimated to be approximately 2000 primary metabolites in humans with this number increasing by 10-fold or more if secondary metabolites are considered. In contrast, plants have up to 200,000 metabolites.
Metabolomics is a relatively new member to the ‘-omics’ family of systems biology technologies (Bino et.al. 2004). The term ‘metabolome’ was coined in 1998 and was used to describe the metabolite complement of living tissues (Oliver et.al. 1998). Despite its relative youth (in comparison to genomics and proteomics), metabolomics as a field of study is now firmly established as a functional genetics approach to understanding the molecular complexity of life (Wagner et.al. 2003). Today, it even has a journal with its namesake, Metabolomics, dedicated to scribing its tribulations and advances (available at www.springeronline.com). This paper will briefly describe some important aspects of the innovative field of metabolomics, namely, some working definitions for metabolomics in a scientific setting, measurement methods of the metabolome, and some current applications of metabolomic research. What is metabolomics and why is it an important addition to the study of biological systems? Metab
For those who’ve just read about proteomics above, no prizes for guessing that the “metabolome” comprises all the “metabolites” in a particular thing under consideration (e.g. individual, organ or body fluid) and “metabolomics” is the study of as many of those metabolites as practicable. The term metabolites covers a whole range of small molecules including those formed from breakdown of food (i.e. “metabolism” ), hormones and drugs. Just like proteomics and protein chemistry, metabolomics can be viewed as a technologically revolutionised form of metabolic biochemistry. Likewise, mass spectrometry plays a key role as does another type of instrument called an NMR spectrometer . In another guise, such instruments are used medically for MRI scans (i.e. magnetic resonance imaging). And again, bioinformatics plays a crucial role in metabolomics, both for sorting out the metabolite information and linking it with proteome and genome data. Metabolomics provides scientists with several benefit
