Omics and its Integration: A Systems Biology Approach to Understanding Plant Physiology

Abstract

Due to the complexity and interconnectivity of many biological processes, an integrative systems biology approach is required to better understand them. The integration of various omics data (including genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics data) will provide a holistic view that highlights the relationship among the various biomolecules and their functions in plant growth, resistance, quality, and many other important traits. Recent advances in analytical power and in the ability to process large data sets has enabled researchers to integrate multi-omics data and have a much deeper knowledge of the cell, tissue, organ, or even an entire organism being studied. The goal of this Research Topic is not only to publish high-quality and reliable omics data but also to answer the bigger question of how to integrate and correlate different data sets from multiple omics studies. Can one omics data set be used as a primary data set for the design and execution of another omics study? If so, then how it can be done? What are its pre-requisites? How can we plan research involving multi-omics approach to reach a meaningful conclusion? These are the questions that need our attention and their answers are critical for the future of omics-based research. For this Research Topic, we welcome contributors to submit manuscripts related to the following themes: • Studies on plant-based genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics; • Development of new analytical methods for omics utilizing in plants; • Advancements in the current analytical methods for utilizing omics in plants; • Integration of multi-omics data sets; • Development of new statistical methods for data analysis.