Fig. 1

Multiple omics data types and approaches to disease research. Layers depict different types of omics data (Box 1). Omics data are collected on the entire pool of molecules, represented as circles. Except for the genome, all data layers reflect both genetic regulation and environment, which may affect each individual molecule to a different extent. The thin red arrows represent potential interactions or correlations detected between molecules in different layers—for example, the red transcript can be correlated to multiple proteins. Within layer interactions, although prevalent, are not depicted. Thicker arrows indicate different potential starting points or conceptual frameworks for consolidating multiple omics data to understand disease. The genome first approach implies that one starts from associated locus, while the phenotype first approach implies any other layer as the starting point. The environment first approach (not shown) examines environmental perturbations