ABSTRACT
Etymological analysis suggests that the sufx “ome” is derived from the Sanskrit om “the completeness and fullness” [1]. By combining “gene” and “ome,” Hans Winkler created the term genom(e), referring to “the haploid chromosome set, which, together with the pertinent protoplasm, species the material foundations of the species” [1,2]. Alternatively, the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that Winkler used genom(e) as a portmanteau of gene and chromosome [3]. Victor McKusick and Frank Ruddle added “genomics” to the scientic lexicon as the title for a new journal they cofounded in 1987, with emphasis on linear gene mapping, DNA sequencing, and comparison of genomes from different species [4]. Thus, the neologism “omics” is used to refer to the study of large sets of biological molecules [5], such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, or ionomics. The related sufx ome is used in molecular biology to address the totality of the objects of study. The omics technologies allow the generation of copious amounts of data at multiple levels of biology from gene sequence and expression to protein and metabolite patterns underlying variability in cellular networks and function of whole organ systems [6,7].
