Ome -itis

							                                                   Ome1-itis:
                            A Collection of Uses of the Universal Biosuffix
                             (Loosely Arranged in Chronological Order)

                                                     S.C. Mohr
                                                     (9/5/2003)

genome – the totality of the genetic information possessed by a specific living organism
(sometimes restricted to a subcellular compartment, e.g., the mitochondrial genome)

biome – an ecological community: a defined environment and all its inhabitants.

proteome – the complete set of proteins present in (or produced by) a given cell (either
under a given set of conditions or under all possible conditions)

transcriptome – all the transcription products derived from a given genome
(alternatively, those produced by a given cell type under specified conditions)

RNAome – alternative term for transcriptome when that word is restricted to
(pre)mRNAs

interactome – the complete set of macromolecular interactions (often considered
pairwise) in a given cell (or extracellular compartment). Often used thoughtlessly to
refer only to protein-protein interactions.

metabolome – the totality of metabolic processes (enzyme-catalyzed reactions) in a
given cell type (perhaps under specified conditions)

regulome – the genome-wide regulatory network of the cell

glycome – the universe of mono-, oligo- and polysaccharides produced by a given
organism (perhaps restricted to specific conditions)

lipidome – the complete complement of lipids produced by a given organism (perhaps
under specific conditions)

alkaloidome – the total collection of alkaloids synthesized by a given plant species (two
uses found by Google, both attributed to Denise Jacobs of Leiden University)

1
    T. Mennella, “The out-of-hand o mnipresent ome,” The Scientist, 17(12):52 (2003).