HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Watkins, S. M Articles by German, J B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Watkins, S. M Articles by German, J B. Agricola Articles by Watkins, S. M Articles by German, J B.

Individual metabolism should guide agriculture toward foods for improved health and nutrition^1,2,3

¹ From the Departments of Food Science and Technology and of Entomology and the Cancer Research Center, University of California, Davis; Lipomics Technologies, Inc, West Sacramento, CA; and the Nestle Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Genomics and bioinformatics have the vast potential to identify genes that cause disease by investigating whole-genome databases. Comparison of an individual's geno-type with a genomic database will allow the prescription of drugs to be tailored to an individual's genotype. This same bioinfor-matic approach, applied to the study of human metabolites, has the potential to identify and validate targets to improve person-alized nutritional health and thus serve to define the added value for the next generation of foods and crops. Advances in high-throughput analytic chemistry and computing technologies make the creation of a vast database of metabolites possible for several subsets of metabolites, including lipids and organic acids. In cre-ating integrative databases of metabolites for bioinformatic investigation, the current concept of measuring single biomark-ers must be expanded to 3 dimensions to 1) include a highly comprehensive set of metabolite measurements (a profile) by multiparallel analyses, 2) measure the metabolic profile of indi-viduals over time rather than simply in the fasted state, and 3) integrate these metabolic profiles with genomic, expression, and proteomic databases. Application of the knowledge of indi-vidual metabolism will revolutionize the ability of nutrition to deliver health benefits through food in the same way that knowl-edge of genomics will revolutionize individual treatment of dis-ease with pharmaceuticals.

Key Words: Metabolomics • lipids • metabolites • genomics • bioinformatics • agriculture • medicine • nutrition

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Luria, C. Morisseau, H.-J. Tsai, J. Yang, B. Inceoglu, B. De Taeye, S. M. Watkins, M. M. Wiest, J. B. German, and B. D. Hammock Alteration in plasma testosterone levels in male mice lacking soluble epoxide hydrolase Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, August 1, 2009; 297(2): E375 - E383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Walzem, R. A. Baillie, M. Wiest, R. Davis, S. M. Watkins, T. E. Porter, J. Simon, and L. A. Cogburn Functional Annotation of Genomic Data with Metabolic Inference Poult. Sci., July 1, 2007; 86(7): 1510 - 1522. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Shulaev Metabolomics technology and bioinformatics Brief Bioinform, June 1, 2006; 7(2): 128 - 139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. German, D. E. Bauman, D. G. Burrin, M. L. Failla, H. C. Freake, J. C. King, S. Klein, J. A. Milner, G. H. Pelto, K. M. Rasmussen, et al. Metabolomics in the Opening Decade of the 21st Century: Building the Roads to Individualized Health J. Nutr., October 1, 2004; 134(10): 2729 - 2732. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. M. Rand Variability in Planning and Assessment: Statistical Considerations and Models J. Nutr., June 1, 2004; 134(6): 1610S - 1616S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Kaput and R. L. Rodriguez Nutritional genomics: the next frontier in the postgenomic era Physiol Genomics, January 15, 2004; 16(2): 166 - 177. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R.-J. A. N. Lamers, J. DeGroot, E. J. Spies-Faber, R. H. Jellema, V. B. Kraus, N. Verzijl, J. M. TeKoppele, G. K. Spijksma, J. T.W.E. Vogels, J. van der Greef, et al. Identification of Disease- and Nutrient-Related Metabolic Fingerprints in Osteoarthritic Guinea Pigs J. Nutr., June 1, 2003; 133(6): 1776 - 1780. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. German, M.-A. Roberts, and S. M. Watkins Genomics and Metabolomics as Markers for the Interaction of Diet and Health: Lessons from Lipids J. Nutr., June 1, 2003; 133(6): 2078S - 2083. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. R. Young 2001 W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture and the 2001 ASNS President's Lecture: Human Nutrient Requirements: The Challenge of the Post-Genome Era J. Nutr., April 1, 2002; 132(4): 621 - 629. [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. H. Allen, M. E. Bentley, S. M. Donovan, D. M. Ney, and P. J. Stover Securing the Future of Nutritional Sciences Through Integrative Graduate Education J. Nutr., April 1, 2002; 132(4): 779 - 784. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]