Sequencing of the human genome has opened the way and provided the impetus for building a comprehensive picture of a mammalian cell. Significant efforts are underway in the fields of genomics and proteomics to identify all genes and proteins in a given organism. The goal is a complete map of the genes, gene products and their interaction networks in a functioning cell. The next step in establishing a comprehensive picture of a cell will be to tie the cell's metabolome into the rapidly developing genomic and proteomic maps. A cell's metabolome, however, is such an enormous and complex entity that characterizing it can only be approached in sections. This consortium is now proposing to focus on the lipid section of the metabolome by developing an integrated metabolomic system capable of characterizing the global changes in lipid metabolites ("lipidomics"). Our consortium has developed a Lipid Metabolites and Pathways Strategy, termed LIPID MAPS, that applies a global integrated approach to the study of lipidomics. ... [Information of the supplier]
