Metals from cell to environment: Connecting Metallomics with other omics

Research activities and data collection of metals present in living organisms are called as “metallomics”.In metallomics, biomolecules incorporating metal ions viz. metalloenzymes and metalloproteins, areknown as “metallomes”. Metallomics aims to identify metallomes of living organisms and to annotate thephysiological signifi cance as well as the biological functions. However, in order to ascertain metallomicsto be the part of biometal science, recent analytical technologies like chemical speciation are required toanalyze the metallomes. Environmental applications like bioleaching, phytoremediation of soil by usingmicrobes, and to deal with the uptake, transport, storage of trace metals necessary for protein functionsand biomarkers identifi cation under ecotoxicological studies really require metallomics involvement. Asan interdisciplinary research area, metallomics cover plant and animal physiology, nutrition and becomea potential candidate in pharmacology, biogeochemistry and clinical chemistry. Metallomics usesanalytical and spectroscopic methods to fi nd the quantitative and qualitative information about metalions that are present as ligands a well multifaceted biological matrix in trace amounts or occur as noncovalent complexes in order to perform different biological processes. Latest spectroscopic methodsalong with in-silico approaches including bioinformatics are the important tools needed for researchactivities in metallomics. The present review highlights the basics of metallomics in biological sciencesand its emergence as a novel omics era in relation to other fi elds. Besides the above aspects, applications and future prospects of metallomics have been highlighted.