Omics are novel, comprehensive approaches for analysis of complete genetic or molecular profiles of humans and other organisms. For example, in contrast to genetics, which focuses on single genes, genomics focuses on all genes (genomes) and their inter-relationships (see WHO definition). This approach allows studying how complex interactions between genes and molecules influence the phenotype, e.g. the disease symptoms in a patient. With the development of high-throughput technologies, such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), which allows to sequence entire genomes, the omics field is rapidly expanding and creating new perspectives for research and diagnosis.
Examples of different types of omics include:
- Genomics: studying genomes - entire set of genes, "the genetic landscape" of an organism
- Proteomics: studying proteomes - entire sets of proteins produced by an organism
- Transcriptomics: studying transcriptomes - the sets of all RNA molecules, including mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, and other non-coding RNAs
- Pharmacogenomics: the effect of variations within the human genome on response to drugs
- Phenomics: studing phenomes - sets of phenotypic traits, such as comprehensive description of disease symptoms in a patient
The RD-Connect Genome-Phenome Analysis Platform is currently focusing on genomics, and allows researchers to analyse NGS data (which includes Whole Genome and Whole Exome Sequencing as well as panel data) in combination with phenotype data. The data are then shared with other researchers to allow information exchange and speed up research and diagnosis. In the future, the Platform will also allow multiomics – linking up different omics data of individual patients.
