FUNCTIONAL GENOMIC & BIOLOGICAL TESTING

What is Functional Genomics? Functional Genomics focuses on integrating the many layers of our cellular biology that influence our health and how they interact with each other and the environment. These layers include: DNA, Epigenetics, Gene Expression, and Metabolic Biochemistry.

Genetics and Genomics both focus on DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, which makes up the genes that contain our body’s operational blueprints. DNA gives our cells detailed instructions for everything from energy production in mitochondria to cellular health, food digestion and nutrient processing, thinking, walking and breathing, protecting us from viruses, how we age, and more.

While humans are 99.9% alike in our DNA, the 0.1% difference makes us each unique. Much of that difference comes from millions of small changes in our DNA, the most common of which are SNPs.

These SNPs, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, can create minor changes in the genes that give our bodies instructions for how our biochemistries work, potentially predisposing us to disease or problems with medications. Genomic testing helps us identify where these SNPs are located in our DNA and what functions they impact, giving us better tools for understanding our own health. As technology is advancing, Whole Genome Testing is now another viable option that evaluates the entire genome, or ALL of the DNA sequence and its alterations which may also include genetic mutations in addition to SNPs.

Our genes may be microscopic, but they can respond to our environment in a big way! Some environmental conditions can be strong enough to influence the way our genes actually give instructions to our cells, known as gene expression.

There is another way to influence gene expression, and this is through epigenetics. Epigenetics examines how the function of our genes can actually change due to these environmental cues, without the DNA itself changing. Imagine if your DNA is like a complicated network of train tracks- epigenetic modifications are like “on” or “off” control levers added to the rails over time, halting movement or redirecting traffic in certain places.

In fact, these little epigenetic tags or “switches” can be passed down from generation to generation. Each of us inherits different control panels from our ancestors. These ancestral modifications, or epigenetic signatures, can reflect adaptations that helped our predecessors cope with environmental conditions, including trauma. So, even if your genes are “normal” and ready to work the railway, they may not be doing their job because their instructions have been overridden!

Understanding some of the influences on our DNA, like SNPs and epigenetics, can give us better tools for meeting each person’s health goals. Our health on a cellular level is referred to as our biological age, and it is linked to this patterning of epigenetic tags. Biological age can be a good indicator of overall health. And since epigenetics is a dynamic process, these track controls can be added or removed through changes in diet and lifestyle.

In order to determine how well these lifestyle changes are working to meet our overall health goals, we can collect data on our metabolic biochemistry. By testing blood, urine, and saliva samples, we can observe any changes to our cells and mitochondria. This testing can be a powerful tool when assessing how our genomics, epigenetics, and biological age come together to affect our cellular functioning, and use it to evaluate any responses to treatments.