School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
Microb Cell Fact. 2007 Aug 15;6:26. doi: 10.1186/1475-2859-6-26.
It is now more than 10 years since the publication of the first microbial genome sequence and science is now moving towards a post genomic era with transcriptomics and proteomics offering insights into cellular processes and function. The ability to assess the entire protein network of a cell at a given spatial or temporal point will have a profound effect upon microbial science as the function of proteins is inextricably linked to phenotype. Whilst such a situation is still beyond current technologies rapid advances in mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and protein separation technologies have produced a step change in our current proteomic capabilities. Subsequently a small, but steadily growing, number of groups are taking advantage of this cutting edge technology to discover more about the physiology and metabolism of microorganisms. From this research it will be possible to move towards a systems biology understanding of a microorganism. Where upon researchers can build a comprehensive cellular map for each microorganism that links an accurately annotated genome sequence to gene expression data, at a transcriptomic and proteomic level.In order for microbiologists to embrace the potential that proteomics offers, an understanding of a variety of analytical tools is required. The aim of this review is to provide a basic overview of mass spectrometry (MS) and its application to protein identification. In addition we will describe how the protein complexity of microbial samples can be reduced by gel-based and gel-free methodologies prior to analysis by MS. Finally in order to illustrate the power of microbial proteomics a case study of its current application within the Bacilliaceae is given together with a description of the emerging discipline of metaproteomics.
自第一份微生物基因组序列公布以来，已经过去了 10 多年，科学现在正朝着后基因组时代发展，转录组学和蛋白质组学为细胞过程和功能提供了新的见解。能够在特定的时空点评估细胞的整个蛋白质网络，将对微生物科学产生深远的影响，因为蛋白质的功能与表型密不可分。虽然这种情况仍然超出了当前技术的范围，但质谱、生物信息学和蛋白质分离技术的快速发展，使我们的蛋白质组学能力发生了质的飞跃。因此，尽管数量较少，但越来越多的小组正在利用这项前沿技术来更多地了解微生物的生理学和新陈代谢。从这项研究中，有可能对微生物进行系统生物学理解。通过这种方式，研究人员可以为每个微生物构建一个全面的细胞图谱，将准确注释的基因组序列与转录组和蛋白质组水平的基因表达数据联系起来。为了让微生物学家充分利用蛋白质组学提供的潜力，需要了解各种分析工具。本文的目的是对质谱（MS）及其在蛋白质鉴定中的应用进行基本概述。此外，我们还将描述如何通过基于凝胶和无凝胶的方法来减少微生物样品的蛋白质复杂性，然后再通过 MS 进行分析。最后，为了说明微生物蛋白质组学的强大功能，本文提供了一个在芽孢杆菌科中的当前应用案例研究，并描述了新兴的宏蛋白质组学领域。
