Metabolomics — the link between genotypes and phenotypes

Abstract

Metabolites are the end products of cellular regulatory processes, and their levels can be regarded as the ultimate response of biological systems to genetic or environmental changes. In parallel to the terms 'transcriptome' and 'proteome', the set of metabolites synthesized by a biological system constitute its 'metabolome'. Yet, unlike other functional genomics approaches, the unbiased simultaneous identification and quantification of plant metabolomes has been largely neglected. Until recently, most analyses were restricted to profiling selected classes of compounds, or to fingerprinting metabolic changes without sufficient analytical resolution to determine metabolite levels and identities individually. As a prerequisite for metabolomic analysis, careful consideration of the methods employed for tissue extraction, sample preparation, data acquisition, and data mining must be taken. In this review, the differences among metabolite target analysis, metabolite profiling, and metabolic fingerprinting are clarified, and terms are defined. Current approaches are examined, and potential applications are summarized with a special emphasis on data mining and mathematical modelling of metabolism.

Alzheimer's disease–like pathology has transient effects on the brain and blood metabolome

“…Metabolomics techniques can comprehensively and simultaneously help to measure disturbances in metabolic pathways that reflect changes downstream from genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic systems in a high-throughput manner (Beckonert et al, 2007;Fiehn, 2002). It holds considerable potential as a discovery platform for identifying novel diagnostic biomarkers for AD but also many other neurodegenerative diseases.…”

Benzo(a)pyrene-induced metabolic responses in Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) based metabolomics

“…Moreover, NMR spectroscopy is rapid and rich in structural and quantitative information and allows the metabolites to be analyzed simultaneously (Lindon et al, 2000;Wu et al, 2005). Therefore, the application of 1 H NMR spectroscopy in metabolomics can analyze a wide range of endogenous metabolites from biological samples including intact tissues or tissue extracts to provide valuable biochemical information on the physiological perturbations induced by both endogenous and exogenous factors (e.g., contaminants) (Fiehn, 2002). To our knowledge, however, the application of this metabolomics approach in marine toxicology of PAHs with invertebrates has been rather limited (Williams et al, 2009).…”

1H NMR metabonomics can differentiate the early atherogenic effect of dairy products in hyperlipidemic hamsters

“…Thus, it seems relevant to consider how the dietary environment can 11 modulate the various effects of dairy fats on atherosclerosis. As analysis with a limited 12 number of biomarkers can lead to inaccurate diagnosis of a multifactorial disease, such as 13 atherosclerosis, but a new approach based on metabonomics could provide a suitable tool for 14 examining phenotypes using hundreds of metabolite descriptors 8,9 . Although it is a recent 15 introduction to the field of nutrition research, nutritional metabonomics has already delivered 16 interesting insights into the understanding of metabolic responses of humans or animals in 17 response to dietary interventions, as well as for the definition of metabolic phenotypes [10][11][12][13][14] .…”