Table 1 Glossary of useful terminology

aDNA: ancient DNA, DNA extracted from ancient specimens. Due to degradation processes aDNA is of lower quality than modern genetic material

Amino acid: building blocks of proteins, there are 20 different types

Genomics: the branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes

Enzyme: protein molecules in cells which work as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions in the body

Metagenomics: study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples

LC–MSMS: Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, frequently used in proteomics

Microbiome: the combined genetic material of the microorganisms in a particular environment (including the body or a part of the body)

MALDI-TOF MS: matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, frequently used for PMF

mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA, only inherited by the female line

Peptide: short chains of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds

NGS: next generation sequencing, also known as high-throughput sequencing are technologies that allow for sequencing of DNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previous methods

PMF: peptide mass fingerprinting, a method of protein identification based on a mass spectrum of a mixture of peptides that come from a digested protein

SNP: single nucleotide polymorphism, a substitution of a single nucleotide that occurs at a specific position in the genome

Proteomics: branch of molecular biology concerned with the large-scale study of proteins and their functions