Environmental Genomics
For decades, the catchphrase has been "nature versus nurture." The genome sciences have demonstrated that this cliché is inaccurate; what' s actually going on in our world is more correctly summed up by the phrase "nature via nurture" (also the title of a recent book by science writer Matt Ridley). What that means is that our genes-nature-do what they do in response to the environment (nurture). That environment may be the environment within a cell or a tissue or an organ. However, we also know that our genes turn on or off in response to their broader environments: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and all of the other environmental agents to which we are exposed. The environmental genomics initiative at Duke seeks to understand why certain people become ill when challenged with environmental agents while others remain healthy. By studying which genes are turned on and off in response to environmental stimuli, it should be possible to determine how those stimuli interact with our genomes and which of those interactions lead to disease in some people and not in others.
How is this done? Gene expression profiling-measuring the activity of hundreds or thousands of genes at once-is a powerful tool for analyzing genomic responses to environmental agents in humans. In addition, model organisms-mice, worms and zebrafish-provide opportunities for investigating the role of specific types of environmental stressors (bacteria, malnutrition, metals, toxins) in eliciting pathogenic responses. A wide range of diseases, including asthma, neural tube defects and immune disorders, are known to have major environmental components. Genomic studies in both animals and humans should allow Duke investigators to gain valuable insight into the pathogenic mechanisms of these conditions and help facilitate new treatment approaches.