Integrating 'omics' in Toxicology

by Veigl, Martina L; Sedwick, W. David; Anderson, Diana; Marrs, Tim; Waters, Mike D.

• ISBN13: 9781849734691
• ISBN10: 1849734690
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-05-30
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry

Summary

This book discusses omics technologies and their potential for understanding the actions of toxins on the environment and living organisms. Such approaches provide a snapshot of organismic and cellular responses that can be analyzed at both the population and individual level.Each omics technology (metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics and epigenomics) is discussed in terms of usage methodologies, potential applications and pitfalls. Experts in each field use their specialist knowledge to provide a toxicological or physiological context for their contributions. Discussion chapters also show how multiple omics technologies can be combined to reveal the toxicological impact on biological systems. Separate chapters concentrate on the integration of large and diverse data sets from omics and computational analysis into useful frameworks. This section also addresses the challenge presented by the massive amount of data generated by high-throughput DNA sequencing and predicts the impact of the rapidly increasing capacity of future generations of sequencing technology. A large number of databases provide the foundation for most omics studies in toxicology. The reasons for using omics come from our knowledge of the structure of toxins and their metabolites, and how their chemistry affects living systems. This book provides insight into the creation of databases and illustrates the approaches employed for generating those currently used for the majority of key regulatory decisions. It also reveals how data generated by omics technologies has clear applications in the identification of biological markers of disease and the understanding of how toxins impact on ecological and individual physiological systems.