Scientists Complete Human Metabalome

Canadian scientists say they’ve completed 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 found in or produced by an organism. By analogy, the researchers said if the genome represents the blueprint of life, the metabolome represents the ingredients of life.

Scientists at the University of Alberta have catalogued and characterized 2,500 metabolites, 1,200 drugs and 3,500 food components that can be found in the human body.

Metabolites are the canaries of the genome, said Professor David Wishart, the project leader. A single base change in our DNA can lead to a 100,000X change in metabolite levels.”

He said the research is significant since most medical tests today are based on measuring metabolites in blood or urine.

Unfortunately, less than 1 percent of known metabolites are being used in routine clinical testing, said Wishart. If you can only see 1 percent of what’s going on in the body, you’re obviously going to miss a lot.

The research is published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.