Functional genomics is a widely discussed phrase that has different significance for different people. We are convinced that cellular modeling is the optimal tool for making the transition from genome informatics to bioinformatics. If the goal of genome research is to support biomedical research, it appears essential to connect sequence information to physiological function. We think this is best accomplished by building on the central dogma of molecular cell biology:
The vast and powerful databases of sequence information will soon identify all of the gene products that are potentially synthesized by an organism. Based on homology searches, probable cellular functions can be assigned to those proteins which have not previously been assigned functions through functional cloning. Expression libraries and the identification of cell type-specific promoters will permit identification of the subset of genes expressed in each mammalian cell type. Since each protein mediates one or more processes in the cell, we can begin to construct formal mechanistic models of cellular function and test those models against experimental data. Experience teaches that we must have recourse to these biologically realistic models if we are to comprehend and control cellular function. This is because overall cell function simply cannot be inferred from a collection of all the individual processes that take place in the cytosol, in the various organellar compartments, in the plasma membrane and on the cell surface. The famous observation made by Poincare seems relevant here:
"Science is made up of facts just as a house is made up of stones, but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."
Henri Poincare, Science and Hypothesis, Dover Publications, New York, 1952, unabridged republication of the first English translation (1905) published by Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd.
BioInformatics Services is positioned to support investigators who wish to move from genomics to functional genomics by building and testing kinetic models of cellular function. Contact us to discuss your own objectives.