Abstract
OMICS(genomics, proteomics, metabolomics)technology is being applied to biological studies from prokaryote to human. In my laboratory, we are trying to combine OMICS technologies to environmental monitoring using yeast cells, medaka, rice and some kinds of animals. In this report, I would like to focus on OMICS as the tools of environmental science. For genomics studies, we use DNA microarray and this is now commercially available. DNA microarrays have enabled genome-wide analyses of cellular responses at the transcriptional level. This technology provides a great opportunity for bioassays of chemical and environmental toxicity because it can provide an overview of thousands of genes at the same time and shed light on how to investigate toxicological problems. For proteomics studies, classical two-dimensional electrophoresis and peptide sequencer or mass spectrometry were used for monitoring stress induced and modified proteins. However, protein turnover ratio especially degradation rate was slow in stressed cells and the induction levels of proteins do not always reflect the timely status of physiology. The role of proteomics must be the contribution to modified protein analysis. For metabolomics studies, NMR, LC/MS, and CE/MS are candidate for the separation and identification of metabolites. The most advanced point of metabolomics is the fact that we, human, shares metabolite with almost all organisms.
The future of OMICS technology depends how combine genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, how scientist open their results, and how we apply to organism living in the environment.
