Merging the exposome into an integrated framework for "omics" sciences

Abstract

The exposome concept encourages holistic consideration of the non-genetic factors (environmental exposures including lifestyle) that influence an individual's health over their life course. However, disconnect between the concept and practical application has promoted divergent interpretations of the exposome across disciplines and reinforced separation of the environmental (emphasizing exposures) and biological (emphasizing responses) research communities. In particular, while knowledge of biological responses can help to distinguish actual (i.e. experienced) from potential exposures, the inclusion of endogenous processes has generated confusion about the position of the exposome in a multi-omics systems biology context. We propose a reattribution of "exposome" to exclusively represent the totality of contact with external factors that a biological entity experiences, and introduce the term "functional exposomics" to denote the systematic study of exposure-phenotype interaction. This reoriented definition of the exposome allows a more readily integrable dataset for multi-omics and systems biology research.

Keywords: Environmental health; Exposure assessment; Omics.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1

Example of integrating the exposome in a human multi-omics approach and complementing genotype-to-phenotype (functional genomics) with exposotype-to-phenotype (functional exposomics) mapping The chronological analysis of expressed genes, exposures experienced, and their interactions (GxE) can elucidate the genetic and environmental influence on phenotype development and health. Created using icons from https://icons8.com.