Exome-matched protein as the ideal dietary amino acid pattern: A narrative review

With few exceptions, all organisms on Earth use a common amino acid alphabet for synthesizing protein that consists of 20 canonical amino acids. Heterotrophic organisms have to obtain these amino acids from their food, especially the indispensable amino acids. The amount of and ratio between the indispensable amino acids is therefore a major determinant of protein quality. There exist several measures of protein quality for human nutrition and all of them rely on the empirical estimation of amino acid requirements. With the availability of whole genome sequencing data, however, a new method of deductively deriving amino acid requirements became available which uses the information encoded on the exome (the totality of protein-coding exons). By translating an organism's exome into the corresponding proteome in silico, the average encoded amino acid pattern can be computed and used ex hypothesi for defining an ideal amino acid pattern. Here I review the theoretical concepts behind exome-matched proteins and summarize the preclinical data that provide preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that such proteins indeed constitute an ideal protein source to maximize growth, reproduction and health. While clinical trials are yet to confirm this hypothesis in humans, there is a broad hypothetical range of applications of exome-matched proteins for human consumption. This review concludes that the concept of exome-matched proteins is interesting theoretically, promising for practical applications in animal and human nutrition and stimulating for further transdisciplinary research.