title: Cell functional enviromics: unravelling the function of environmental factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While functional genomics, focused on gene functions and gene-gene interactions, has become a very active field of research in molecular biology, equivalent methodologies embracing the environment and gene-environment interactions are relatively less developed. Understanding the function of environmental factors is, however, of paramount importance given the complex, interactive nature of environmental and genetic factors across multiple time scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we propose a systems biology framework, where the function of environmental factors is set at its core. We set forth a "reverse" functional analysis approach, whereby cellular functions are reconstructed from the analysis of dynamic envirome data. Our results show these data sets can be mapped to less than 20 core cellular functions in a typical mammalian cell culture, while explaining over 90% of flux data variance. A functional enviromics map can be created, which provides a template for manipulating the environmental factors to induce a desired phenotypic trait.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support the feasibility of cellular function reconstruction guided by the analysis and manipulation of dynamic envirome data.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica - Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-UNL), Av, República, Quinta do Marquês, Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: João Ml
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carinhas
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: João J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Clemente
authors.forename: António E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Stosch
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Manuel Jt
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Carrondo
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D006224:Cricetinae; D004777:Environment; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors