title: Systems biology in 3D space--enter the morphome.
abstract: Systems-based understanding of living organisms depends on acquiring huge datasets from arrays of genes, transcripts, proteins, and lipids. These data, referred to as 'omes', are assembled using 'omics' methodologies. Currently a comprehensive, quantitative view of cellular and organellar systems in 3D space at nanoscale/molecular resolution is missing. We introduce here the term 'morphome' for the distribution of living matter within a 3D biological system, and 'morphomics' for methods of collecting 3D data systematically and quantitatively. A sampling-based approach termed stereology currently provides rapid, precise, and minimally biased morphomics. We propose that stereology solves the 'big data' problem posed by emerging wide-scale electron microscopy (EM) and can establish quantitative links between the newer nanoimaging platforms such as electron tomography, cryo-EM, and correlative microscopy.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TF, UK. Electronic address: jml7@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lucocq
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK.
authors.forename: Terry M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Mayhew
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy Core Facility, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy Core Facility, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Steyer
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TF, UK.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hacker
mesh_terms: D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy; D055032:Electron Microscope Tomography; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends
keywords: electron microscopy; morphome; morphomics; quantitation; serial EM; stereology