Canada completes human metabolome first draft

Researchers at Canada's University of Alberta in Edmonton 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.

The scientists have catalogued and characterised 2500 metabolites, 1200 drugs and 3500 food components that can be found in the human body. The research is published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

The researchers believe that the results of their work represent the starting point for a new era in diagnosing and detecting diseases.

They believe that the Human Metabolome Project (HMP), which began in Canada in 2004, will have a more immediate effect on medicine and medical practices than the Human Genome Project, because the metabolome is far more sensitive to the body's health and physiology.

"Metabolites are the canaries of the genome," Dr David Wishart, professor of computing science and biological sciences at the University of Alberta and the project's leader. "A single base change in our DNA can lead to a 100,000 times change in metabolite levels."

The metabolome is exquisitely sensitive to what a person eats, where they live, the time of day, the time of year, their general health and even their mood. The HMP is aimed at allowing doctors to better diagnose and treat diseases.

"Most medical tests today are based on measuring metabolites in blood or urine," Wishart said. "Unfortunately, less than one per cent of known metabolites are being used in routine clinical testing. If you can only see one per cent of what's going on in the body, you're obviously going to miss a lot."

By measuring or acquiring chemical, biological and disease association data on all known human metabolites, the HMP Consortium, which consists of some 50 scientists based at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, has spent the past two and half years compiling the remaining 95 per cent of all known metabolites in the human metabolome.

Detailed information about each of the 2500 metabolites identified so far can be found on the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) at http://www.hmdb.ca.

Source: University of Alberta