-omics
Encyclopedia
The English-language neologism omics informally refers to a field of study in biology
ending in -omics, such as genomics
or proteomics
. The related suffix -ome is used to address the objects of study of such fields, such as the genome
or proteome
, respectively.
Functional genomics
aims at identifying the functions of as many genes as possible of a given organism. It combines
different -omics techniques such as transcriptomics and proteomics with saturated mutant collections.
The suffix -ome as used in molecular biology refers to a totality of some sort; it is an example of a "neo-suffix" formed by abstraction from various Greek terms in , a sequence that does not form an identifiable suffix in Greek.
(OED) distinguishes three different fields of application for the -ome suffix:
The -ome suffix originated as a variant of -oma, and became productive in the last quarter of the 19th century. It was originally found in terms like sclerome or rhizome
. All of these are terms derived from Greek words in , a sequence that is not a single suffix, but analyzable as , the belonging to the word stem, usually a verb, and the being a genuine Greek suffix forming abstract nouns.
OED suggests that the third definition originated as a back-formation
from mitome, Early attestations include biome
(1916) and genome
(first coined as German Genom in 1920).
The association with chromosome in molecular biology is by false etymology. The word chromosome derives from the Greek
stem
s "colour" and "body". While "body" genuinely contains the suffix, the preceding is not a stem-forming suffix but part of the word's root
. Because genome refers to the complete genetic makeup of an organism, a neo-suffix -ome suggested itself as referring to "wholeness" or "completion".
Bioinformaticians
and molecular biologists figured amongst the first scientists to start to apply the "-ome" suffix widely. Some early advocates were bioinformaticians in Cambridge
, UK, where there were many early bioinformatics labs such as the MRC centre, Sanger centre, and EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute
). For example, the MRC centre is where the first genome and proteome projects were carried out.
Similarly, the word “economy” is assembled from Greek “οικ(ο)-” (household) + “νομ(ο)-” (law or custom), and “economic(s)” from “οικ(ο)-” + “νομ(ο)-” + “-ικ(ο)-”. The suffix -omics is sometimes used to create portmanteau words to refer to schools of economics
such as Reaganomics
.
” have become useful and have been widely adopted by research scientists. “Proteomics
” has become well-established as a term for studying proteins at a large scale. "Omes" can provide an easy short-hand to encapsulate a field; for example, an interactomics
study is clearly recognisable as relating to large-scale analyses of gene-gene, protein-protein, or protein-ligand interactions. Researchers are rapidly taking up omes and omics, as shown by the explosion of the use of these terms in PubMed
since the mid '90s.
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
ending in -omics, such as genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
or proteomics
Proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...
. The related suffix -ome is used to address the objects of study of such fields, such as the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
or proteome
Proteome
The proteome is the entire set of proteins expressed by a genome, cell, tissue or organism. More specifically, it is the set of expressed proteins in a given type of cells or an organism at a given time under defined conditions. The term is a portmanteau of proteins and genome.The term has been...
, respectively.
Functional genomics
Functional genomics
Functional genomics is a field of molecular biology that attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data produced by genomic projects to describe gene functions and interactions...
aims at identifying the functions of as many genes as possible of a given organism. It combines
different -omics techniques such as transcriptomics and proteomics with saturated mutant collections.
The suffix -ome as used in molecular biology refers to a totality of some sort; it is an example of a "neo-suffix" formed by abstraction from various Greek terms in , a sequence that does not form an identifiable suffix in Greek.
Origin
The Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) distinguishes three different fields of application for the -ome suffix:
- in medicine, forming nouns with the sense "swelling, tumour"
- in botany or zoology, forming nouns in the sense "a part of an animal or plant with a specified structure"
- in cellular and molecular biology, forming nouns with the sense "all constituents considered collectively".
The -ome suffix originated as a variant of -oma, and became productive in the last quarter of the 19th century. It was originally found in terms like sclerome or rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
. All of these are terms derived from Greek words in , a sequence that is not a single suffix, but analyzable as , the belonging to the word stem, usually a verb, and the being a genuine Greek suffix forming abstract nouns.
OED suggests that the third definition originated as a back-formation
Back-formation
In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
from mitome, Early attestations include biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
(1916) and genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
(first coined as German Genom in 1920).
The association with chromosome in molecular biology is by false etymology. The word chromosome derives from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
stem
Word stem
In linguistics, a stem is a part of a word. The term is used with slightly different meanings.In one usage, a stem is a form to which affixes can be attached. Thus, in this usage, the English word friendships contains the stem friend, to which the derivational suffix -ship is attached to form a new...
s "colour" and "body". While "body" genuinely contains the suffix, the preceding is not a stem-forming suffix but part of the word's root
Root (linguistics)
The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
. Because genome refers to the complete genetic makeup of an organism, a neo-suffix -ome suggested itself as referring to "wholeness" or "completion".
Bioinformaticians
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
and molecular biologists figured amongst the first scientists to start to apply the "-ome" suffix widely. Some early advocates were bioinformaticians in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, UK, where there were many early bioinformatics labs such as the MRC centre, Sanger centre, and EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute
European Bioinformatics Institute
The European Bioinformatics Institute is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics, and is part of European Molecular Biology Laboratory...
). For example, the MRC centre is where the first genome and proteome projects were carried out.
Unrelated words in -omics
The word “comic” does not use the "omics" suffix; it derives from Greek “κωμ(ο)-” (merriment) + “-ικ(ο)-” (an adjectival suffix), rather than presenting a truncation of “σωμ(ατ)-”.Similarly, the word “economy” is assembled from Greek “οικ(ο)-” (household) + “νομ(ο)-” (law or custom), and “economic(s)” from “οικ(ο)-” + “νομ(ο)-” + “-ικ(ο)-”. The suffix -omics is sometimes used to create portmanteau words to refer to schools of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
such as Reaganomics
Reaganomics
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s, also known as supply-side economics and called trickle-down economics, particularly by critics...
.
Current usage
Many “omes” beyond the original “genomeGenome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
” have become useful and have been widely adopted by research scientists. “Proteomics
Proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...
” has become well-established as a term for studying proteins at a large scale. "Omes" can provide an easy short-hand to encapsulate a field; for example, an interactomics
Interactomics
Interactomics is a discipline at the intersection of bioinformatics and biology that deals with studying both the interactions and the consequences of those interactions between and among proteins, and other molecules within a cell. The network of all such interactions is called the Interactome...
study is clearly recognisable as relating to large-scale analyses of gene-gene, protein-protein, or protein-ligand interactions. Researchers are rapidly taking up omes and omics, as shown by the explosion of the use of these terms in PubMed
PubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
since the mid '90s.
External links
- Omics.org, an openfree and comprehensive Omics list on the internet.
- List of omics, including references/origins. Maintained by the (CHI) Cambridge Health Institute.
- Omics World, resources and information for omics research
- Lederberg J, McCray A. 'Ome Sweet 'Omics — A Genealogical Treasury of Words PDF (2 pages). The ScientistThe ScientistThe Scientist: Magazine of Life Sciences is a professional magazine intended for life scientists. Coverage includes reviews of widely noticed research papers, informing its audience of current research, updates to technology, updates to career information, profiles of scientists achieving...
15[7]:8, Apr. 2, 2001. Commentary.