Omics and systems biology: Integration of production and omics data in systems biology

Omics technologies have become of mainstream use in the study of farm animals, to better understand the physiology of the animal and the quality of the products produced by those animals. Such studies can be done at the level of genes, transcripts, proteins and/or metabolites. An important aspect of doing such omics studies is understanding of variation. For example, in relation to parity, lactation, feeding status and animal health, variation can happen in transcripts, proteins or metabolites found in farm animals and the products produced. This variation can help in better understanding the physiology of the animal. Also variation between individual animals exists, which may assist in better understanding of the animal's physiology. One limitation of the majority of the studies in this area is that they are performed using one specific omics technology. Integrating omics data captured using multiple omics technologies, using a systems biology approach, can shed more light on the biochemistry of the farm animal's physiology. At the end of this chapter, the outlook on such studies and the (software) developments that would be needed for optimal integration of omics data is discussed.