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CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY Eleni Anthippi Chatzimichali ...

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1.1.2 The ‘omics’ disciplines<br />

Ever since the first automated DNA sequencing machine (See Figure 1-1), there has<br />

been a tremendous increase in the development of high-throughput platforms leading<br />

to the accumulation of vast amounts of highly heterogeneous biological data. These<br />

large-scale sets of data and biological information have inspired several novel<br />

fundamental concepts – namely, the ‘omics’ disciplines. These disciplines propel<br />

systems-level understanding, having as a chief aim the simultaneous quantification<br />

and identification of the building blocks of a biological system such as genes, proteins<br />

or metabolites, as well as the investigation of the interactions among them such as<br />

protein-protein.<br />

Three of the most important ‘omics’ sources are genomics, proteomics and<br />

metabolomics. The term genomics was established to denote the analysis of the entire<br />

genome – the complete genetic sequence – of an organism. In all cellular organisms,<br />

the genome is composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Proteomics can be defined<br />

as the scientific field that focuses on the study of the proteome. The proteome is the<br />

entire collection of proteins that are expressed by a particular genome. However, even<br />

though the genome of a cellular organism is static – it alters only when mutations<br />

occur – the proteome changes constantly as a result of internal and external factors.<br />

Metabolomics is likewise defined as the comprehensive profiling of the metabolome.<br />

The metabolome consists of all the biochemicals and metabolites produced by a<br />

cellular organism. Metabolites are substances either required for or produced by<br />

biochemical reactions of metabolism that occur within the cells of an organism.<br />

Metabolomics allows scientists to study and compare the relationships between an<br />

organism’s genotype and phenotype, as well as the relationships between the<br />

genotype and the environment (Hassani et al., 2010).<br />

This project will be focusing on the field of metabolomics, and in particular the study<br />

of metabolites responsible for meat spoilage. The analytical techniques that will be<br />

used in this project are briefly presented as follows.<br />

3

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