Prof. Dr. R.N.S. Gowda
Introduction
Omics aims at the collective characterization and quantification of pools of biological molecules that translate into the structure, function, and dynamics of an organism or organisms. ‘Omics technology’ the analysis of molecules including genes, transcripts, and proteins. Omics technologies has innovated analytical workflows to provide quantitative proteomics and metabolomics analyses with supreme throughput accuracy. Thanks to this technology, it is now possible to detect not only qualitative but also quantitative levels of multiple genes, transcripts, and proteins simultaneously. Furthermore, owing to the improved sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the technology, key biomarkers for disease prediction can be identified much faster.
The present and future applications of omics technologies, not only for the identification of specific diagnostic biomarkers, but also for potential future integration in the daily monitoring of poultry production.
Definition
The term “omics” refers to a pool of technologies that are used to measure and functionally characterize different biomolecules in cells or tissues. The primary aim of “omics” technologies is to study genes (genomics), RNAs (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics), and metabolites (metabolomics).
Approaches based on omics technologies are particularly used in poultry research in the hunt for genetic markers of economically important phenotypical traits in the host, and in the identification of key bacterial species or functions in the intestinal microbiome.
The omics approach is particularly helpful since it identifies biomarkers of disease progression and treatment progress by collective characterization and quantification of pools of biological molecules within and among the various types of cells.
The overall, the objective of omics sciences is to identify, characterize, and quantify all biological molecules that are involved in the structure, function, and dynamics of a cell, tissue, or organism.
Who invented omics?
It is indeed interesting to discern that there is little history of how genomics and proteomics came into being, which started the era of omics. The word genomics was first coined by Dr. Thomas H. Roderick, a geneticist at the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, in 1986.
What are the other branches of the omics?
The branches of science known informally as omics are various disciplines in biology whose names ending the suffix -omics such as genomics, proteomics metagenomics, phenomics and transcriptomics and many more.
What are the four major omics used in poultry disease diagnosis?
There are four omics technologies; genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics.
- Genomics, the study of genes, is making it possible to predict, diagnose, and treat diseases more precisely than ever. Early diagnosis of a disease can significantly increase the chances of successful treatment, and genomics can detect a disease long before symptoms present themselves.
Further, whole-genome selection is the newest tool being proposed to the poultry breeding industry for improvement of animal agricultural species. The principle is that the multiple genetic components that affect traits of interest are scattered across the genome. Genomic selection is the future of livestock breeding companies; it improves the genetic gain by decreasing genetic interval and improving reliability. Further research is required to improve the accuracy of genomic estimated value and manage long-term genetic gain. Knowledge of genes conferring disease resistance can be used in selective breeding programmes or to develop vaccines which help to control the effects of these pathogens.
- Transcriptomics: Because the state of the transcriptome in a given diseased tissue may contain a highly accurate representation of key biological phenomena, patterns of gene expression have potential to provide insights into disease mechanisms and also to identify markers useful for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic purposes. By sequencing RNA molecules present in a tissue (e.g., blood), transcriptomics enables the analysis of splicing variants, fostering a new era of insights. Thus, we can achieve more precise diagnoses leading to personalized treatments, tailored to each patient’s unique molecular profile.
- Proteomics: is the analysis of the entire set of proteins in cells, tissues, fluids or an organism at a certain time and under defined conditions that involves the large-scale study of proteins, their physiological roles, or functions. Proteomics technology is a promising method for disease-related biomarker identification in biological fluids, including urine, plasma, and serum. Body fluid samplings are less invasive and have low-cost advantages for proteomics research. Proteomics is to investigate protein biomarkers related to chicken meat quality and safety traits. Proteomics can identify disease biomarkers and vaccine candidates for economically important diseases of livestock and fish in aquaculture, as well as play a major role in species authentication to reassure consumers of food products on supermarket shelves
- Metabolomics: is defined as the study of the entire set of metabolites within in a cell/tissue/organelle following a specific cellular process. Metabolomics can pave the way for a deeper understanding of existing and novel biochemical indicators responsible for determining the quality of poultry meat and eggs. This approach holds the potential to enhance the overall quality of poultry meat and egg products while also preventing food fraud. metabolomics approaches and their utilization in evaluating metabolic changes in biological fluids that occur in response to viral infections. Useful in differential diagnosis of various viral respiratory diseases of poultry.
All the above techniques are made use in accurate disease diagnosis.
Application areas of multi-omics analysis
The omics-based technologies (e.g., genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) have revolutionized the diagnostics of microbial contamination of food, feed, and beverages. Omics technologies are widely used in the following areas:
- Agriculture and forestry: growth and development research, stress and non-stress mechanisms, crop breeding, rare species protection research, medicinal plant research, etc.
- Animal husbandry: growth and development research, mining of functional genes related to important economic traits in livestock and poultry, pathogenic mechanism research, exploration of transcription factors in forage slope and stress conditions, etc.
- Marine aquaculture: growth and development research, evolutionary research, toxicology and water product safety, etc.
- Biomedicine: biomarkers, disease mechanism, drug targets, disease classification, personalized treatment, etc.
- Microbiology: pathogenic mechanisms, drug resistance mechanisms, pathogen-host interactions, etc.
- Environmental science: optimization of fermentation processes, biofuel production, environmental hazard risk assessment, etc.
Approaches based on omics technologies are particularly used in poultry research in the hunt for genetic markers of economically important phenotypical traits in the host, and in the identification of key bacterial species or functions in the intestinal microbiome. Integrative multi-omics analyses, however, are still scarce. Host physiology is investigated via genomics together with transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics techniques, to understand more accurately complex production traits such as disease resistance and fertility. The gut microbiota, as a key player in chicken productivity and health, is also a main subject of such studies, investigating the association between its composition (16S rRNA gene sequencing) or function (metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, metabolomics) and host phenotypes. Applications of these technologies in the study of other host-associated microbiota and other host characteristics are still in their infancy.
Conclusion
In biology, molecular terms with the suffix “-omics” refer to disciplines aiming at the collective characterization of pools of molecules derived from different layers (DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites) of living organisms using high-throughput technologies. Such omics analyses have been widely implemented in poultry research in recent years. poultry industry is increasingly implementing novel technologies to optimize and enhance bird welfare and productivity. The potential integration of multi-omics is the future poultry production. IIt is widely used in identification of a causative agent and disease diagnosis accurately.
*(Former & Founder Vice Chancellor, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal And Fisheries Sciences University,(KVAFSU) Bidar, Bangalore, India Former Director, Institute of Animal Health & Veterinary Biologicals, Bangalore, India
Former- Professor and University Head: Dept. Of Pathology, Veterinary College, UAS, Bangalore, India)
Email: drrns. gowda@ gmail.com