You are here

Genomics and Proteomics

16 November, 2015 - 15:36

Genome mapping is similar to solving a big, complicated puzzle with pieces of information coming from laboratories all over the world. Genetic maps provide an outline for the location of genes within a genome, and they estimate the distance between genes and genetic markers on the basis of the recombination frequency during meiosis. Physical maps provide detailed information about the physical distance between the genes. The most detailed information is available through sequence mapping. Information from all mapping and sequencing sources is combined to study an entire genome.

Whole genome sequencing is the latest available resource to treat genetic diseases. Some doctors are using whole genome sequencing to save lives. Genomics has many industrial applications, including biofuel development, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and pollution control.

Imagination is the only barrier to the applicability of genomics. Genomics is being applied to most fields of biology; it can be used for personalized medicine, prediction of disease risks at an individual level, the study of drug interactions before the conduction of clinical trials, and the study of microorganisms in the environment as opposed to the laboratory. It is also being applied to the generation of new biofuels, genealogical assessment using mitochondria, advances in forensic science, and improvements in agriculture.

Proteomics is the study of the entire set of proteins expressed by a given type of cell under certain environmental conditions. In a multicellular organism, different cell types will have different proteomes, and these will vary with changes in the environment. Unlike a genome, a proteome is dynamic and under constant flux, which makes it more complicated and more useful than the knowledge of genomes alone.