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Alberta researchers 1st to complete the human metabolome

26 Jan 2007 - Researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, have announced the completion of the first draft of the human metabolome, the chemical equivalent of the human genome. The metabolome is the complete complement of all small molecule chemicals (metabolites) found in or produced by an organism. By analogy, if the genome represents the blueprint of life, the metabolome represents the ingredients of life. In essence, scientists have catalogued and characterized 2500 metabolites, 1200 drugs and 3500 food components that can be found in the human body.
 
According to the university, the announcement represents the starting point for a new era in diagnosing and detecting diseases through the chemical makeup of the human body. The Human Metabolome Project (HMP), which began in Canada in 2004, is expected to have a more immediate impact on medicine and medical practices than the Human Genome Project. This is because the metabolome is far more sensitive to the body's health and physiology.
 
"Metabolites are the canaries of the genome," says Project Leader Dr. Wishart, Professor of Computing Science and Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta and Principal Investigator at NRC, National Institute for Nanotechnology. "A single base change in our DNA can lead to a 100,000X change in metabolite levels."
 
This $7.5 Million project funded by Genome Canada through Genome Alberta, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Machine Learning, and the University of Alberta will have far reaching benefits to patient care.