Toxicogenomics in non-mammalian species-Editorial

Toxicity tests in animals are grounded on two main assumptions: first, the effects observed in laboratory animals can be extrapolated to humans, especially when adjusted for body surface area; second, high-dose exposure in animals is essential to identify potential human hazards from lower doses. This is based on the quantal dose-response concept, which faces the challenge of extrapolating results from relatively few test animals to much larger human populations. For example, a 0.01% incidence...

Studies that assess how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted (ADME) at toxic doses are termed toxicokinetics. Understanding toxicokinetics helps predict adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and manage toxicity in humans.Toxicokinetics differs from pharmacokinetics mainly in the dose levels studied, with toxicokinetics focusing on higher toxic doses. The kinetics at these levels can be non-linear due to altered physiological processes. Toxicodynamics examines the relationship...

Overview

To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.

Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...