A deeper understanding of the biological role of sugar molecules is transforming drug design. Susan Aldridge finds out more
Genomics – the study of genes and their functions – was the first word in a new language for molecular biologists. Today, the ’omics lexicon includes proteomics (proteins), metabolomics (metabolism), nutrigenomics (genes and nutrition), pharmacogenomics (genes and drugs) – and now glycomics (carbohydrates). With the ’omics approach, large-scale molecular maps are created – like the human genome – and the focus is on reaction pathways and networks, rather than individual biochemical reactions. It relies on new high-throughput technologies such as robotics and microarrays.
That carbohydrates have gained entry into the ’omics club shows how far our understanding of the role of sugar molecules in biology has advanced in recent years – and just how important that role is.