元蛋白质组学在微生物功能研究中的应用

后基因组时代,仅依靠基因组方法来研究原位微生物群落的功能已远远不够,在这种背景下元蛋白质组学研究逐渐兴起。应用元蛋白质组学技术可大规模研究原位微生物群落的蛋白质表达,分析生态系统中微生物的功能,寻找新的功能基因和代谢通路,为微生物群体的基因和功能多样性研究提供数据。同时,还可鉴定与微生物功能相关的蛋白质,这些蛋白质未来可以作为生物标记物为环境可持续发展铺路。综述了元蛋白质组学的发展概况及其在微生物功能研究中的重大作用,强调了元蛋白质组学方法在分析新功能基因及其相关基因,揭示微生物多样性与微生物群体功能之间的关系等方面起到的作用,并对其应用前景进行了展望。     

土壤宏蛋白质组学在土壤污染评价中的应用

土壤微生物指标是评价土壤污染程度的重要生物学指标之一.近年来,随着分子生物学的发展,应用宏基因组学、宏转录组学和宏蛋白质组学技术考察土壤微生物的生态功能成为土壤功能的研究热点.相对于宏基因组学和宏转录组学,土壤宏蛋白质组学是以土壤微生物基因的功能组分——蛋白质为直接研究对象,考察不同时空点提取出来的土壤蛋白质的变化规律,更有助于揭示土壤微生物的生态功能及其在污染物迁移转化过程中的作用,在评价土壤污染方面也更具潜力.目前,土壤宏蛋白质组学正处于起步阶段,而土壤蛋白质的提取方法是制约其发展的主要因素之一,因此本文综述了蛋白质作为土壤污染评价指标的优势,重点比较了不同土壤蛋白质提取方法的优劣,结合案例分析了蛋白质作为土壤污染评价指标的可行性及存在的问题,并对土壤宏蛋白质组学的发展进行展望.     

极端微生物蛋白质组学的研究现状

本文概述了近年来蛋白质组学技术在极端微生物研究领域中存在的关键问题、解决途径和研究现状。迄今为止,虽然蛋白质组学技术快速发展,但极端微生物的蛋白质组学的研究仍然存在很多困难。由于极端微生物的蛋白质-蛋白质复合物解离不彻底,而嗜中温微生物的蛋白质解离和变性条件不适用于极端微生物合成的大多数蛋白质等特殊问题,致使蛋白质组学技术还没有广泛应用于嗜盐、嗜热/冷、嗜酸/碱等微生物的研究中。当然,蛋白质组学技术应用的潜能和前景吸引人们积极尝试各种各样的方法。目前,通过研究已经有效地解决了嗜盐蛋白质的分离、嵌合膜蛋白的鉴定和新蛋白质的功能推测,证实了基因组预测的一些结论,并揭示基因组不能充分解析的某些特性和新蛋白质。极端微生物蛋白质组学的研究表明,全面展示蛋白质表达谱需要不止一种蛋白质组学方法。此外,蛋白质组学和基因组学的互相印证和结合,将加速极端微生物的研究进程,深入全面地揭示微生物适应极端环境的特殊机制,进而阐明极端微生物生存的机理,为改善胁迫因素导致的伤害提供新的研究方向。     

蛋白质组学分析技术在微生物研究中的应用

随着后基因组时代的到来,蛋白质组学分析为研究微生物的生命活动和细胞功能提供了一个广阔的视角。综述了大规模分析微生物蛋白质组的策略和方法,包括自上而下的蛋白质组学分析、自下而上的蛋白质组学分析、蛋白质组定量分析技术、蛋白质修饰研究方法和蛋白质芯片技术。最后,对沙门氏菌蛋白质组学的研究进展进行了简要介绍。     

原核生物蛋白质基因组学研究进展

随着基因组测序技术的不断发展,大量微生物基因组序列可以在短时间内得以准确鉴定。为了进一步探究基因组的结构与功能,基于序列特征与同源特征的基因组注释算法广泛应用于新测序物种。然而受基因组测序质量以及算法本身准确性偏低等问题的影响,现有的基因组注释存在着相当比例的假基因以及注释错误,尤其是蛋白质N端的注释错误。为了弥补基因组注释的不足,以基因芯片或RNA-seq为核心的转录组测序技术和以串联质谱为核心的蛋白质组测序技术可以高通量地对基因的转录和翻译产物进行精确测定,进而实现预测基因结构的实验验证。然而,原核生物细胞中存在的大量非编码RNA给转录组测序技术引入了污染数据,限制了其对基因组注释的应用。相对而言,以串联质谱技术为核心的蛋白质组学测序可以在短时间内鉴定到生物体内大量的蛋白质,实现注释基因的验证甚至校准。已成为基因组注释和重注释的重要依据,并因而衍生了"蛋白质基因组学"的新研究方向。文中首先介绍传统的基于序列预测和同源比对的基因组注释算法,指出其中存在的不足。在此基础上,结合转录组学与蛋白质组学的技术特点,分析蛋白质组学对于原核生物基因组注释的优势,总结现阶段大规模蛋白质基因组学研究的进展情况。最后从信息学角度指出当前蛋白质组数据进行基因组重注释存在的问题与相应的解决方案,进而探讨未来蛋白质基因组学的发展方向。     

宏蛋白质组学信息分析的基本策略及其挑战

宏蛋白质组学是一门新型科学,它运用质谱技术规模化地采集自然界微生物种群的蛋白质信息,并结合多种组学数据,开展微生物种群的遗传特征及其生物功能的研究.宏蛋白质组学的信息分析与传统蛋白质组学方法有较大的不同,亟需拓展新的分析思路.由于宏蛋白质组的研究对象是复杂度极高的微生物样品,因此,需要构建尽可能囊括样本中所含微生物的基因组信息的物种数据库.面对庞大的数据库,必须考虑到分析过程中所消耗的计算资源和鉴定结果的质控标准,因此,需要高度优化库容量、搜库、假阳性控制等参数.鉴于宏蛋白质组数据中广泛存在复杂的同源蛋白质序列,因此,需要充分利用NCBI数据库中的分类信息进行匹配,并运用LCA算法过滤处理才能将蛋白质有效地归组到物种.本文立足于宏蛋白质组学信息分析,从宏蛋白质组的数据库建立、蛋白质归并、生物学意义发掘等几个方面着手,对该领域的发展现状、面临挑战以及未来研究方向进行了评述.     

叶绿体的蛋白质组学研究进展

蛋白质组学是以基因组编码的所有蛋白为研究对象,高通量地从细胞及整体水平上研究蛋白质的组成及其功能的新兴学科。在后基因组时代的今天,蛋白质组学的研究正逐渐深入到生命科学的各个领域,21世纪蛋白质组学将成为生命科学中最热门的学科。蛋白质组分析已成为鉴定植物功能的有力工具之一,叶绿体作为比较重要的细胞器,在植物蛋白质组学中已有较多的研究,,随着双向电泳技术的改进和质谱法的出现,并与不断增多的拟南芥、水稻、玉米等植物的序列数据相结合,叶绿体蛋白质组可以被快速鉴定。本文主要介绍了植物蛋白质组学、叶绿体及其蛋白质组学研究技术和研究进展,并对蛋白质组学的研究趋势进行了展望。     

果蝇蛋白质组学研究进展

蛋白质组学旨在阐明基因组所表达的真正执行生命活动的全部蛋白质的表达规律和生物功能。随着人类基因组学计划的逐渐成熟,分子水平的实验技术不断发展,蛋白质组学的研究被提高到了前所未有的高度。果蝇是生命科学领域最为常用的一种模式生物,长期的系统研究也使果蝇的基因组成为至今注释最好的基因组之一,为功能基因组研究奠定了基础。但由于技术的限制,迄今有关果蝇蛋白质组学研究的报道尚不多见。近年来果蝇蛋白质组学的研究主要包括表达谱、修饰谱、比较蛋白质组学和疾病模型蛋白质组等四个方向,为进一步开展人类疾病临床蛋白质组学研究奠定了基础。     

蛋白质组学的应用研究进展

蛋白质组学(Proteomics)是一门大规模、高通量、系统化的研究某一类型细胞、组织或体液中的所有蛋白质组成及其功能的新兴学科。虽然基因决定蛋白质的水平,但是基因表达的水平并不能代表细胞内活性蛋白的水平,蛋白质组学分析是对蛋白质翻译和修饰水平等研究的一种补充,是全面了解基因组表达的一种必不可少的手段。蛋白质组学相关技术的发展极大地推动了蛋白质组学的研究进展,使其在各研究领域得到了广泛的应用。对蛋白质组学相关技术及其在各领域的应用进行了综述,最后对蛋白质组学的发展趋势和应用前景作出展望。     

拟南芥叶绿体蛋白质组研究

在后基因组时代,蛋白质组学技术已成为鉴定植物蛋白质功能的有力工具之一,以模式植物拟南芥为材料进行蛋白质组学研究是大家关注的焦点.叶绿体作为重要的细胞器,在植物蛋白质组学中已有较多的研究,本文对近年来拟南芥叶绿体蛋白质组学的研究加以综述,并对未来发展趋势进行了展望.     

Metaproteomics: studying functional gene expression in microbial ecosystems

The recent availability of extensive metagenomic sequences from various environmental microbial communities has extended the postgenomic era to the field of environmental microbiology. Although still restricted to a small number of studies, metaproteomic investigations have revealed interesting aspects of functional gene expression within microbial habitats that contain limited microbial diversity. These studies highlight the potential of proteomics for the study of microbial consortia. However, the application of proteomic investigations to complex microbial assemblages such as seawater and soil still presents considerable challenges. Nonetheless, metaproteomics will enhance the understanding of the microbial world and link microbial community composition to function.     

Computational methods for the comparative quantification of proteins in label-free LCn-MS experiments

Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry (MS) is well established in high-throughput proteomics. The technology enables rapid identification of large numbers of proteins in a relatively short time. Comparative quantification of identified proteins from different samples is often regarded as the next step in proteomics experiments enabling the comparison of protein expression in different proteomes. Differential labeling of samples using stable isotope incorporation or conjugation is commonly used to compare protein levels between samples but these procedures are difficult to carry out in the laboratory and for large numbers of samples. Recently, comparative quantification of label-free LC(n)-MS proteomics data has emerged as an alternative approach. In this review, we discuss different computational approaches for extracting comparative quantitative information from label-free LC(n)-MS proteomics data. The procedure for computationally recovering the quantitative information is described. Furthermore, statistical tests used to evaluate the relevance of results will also be discussed.     

GenomeViz: visualizing microbial genomes

Background

An increasing number of microbial genomes are being sequenced and deposited in public databases. In addition, several closely related strains are also being sequenced in order to understand the genetic basis of diversity and mechanisms that lead to the acquisition of new genetic traits. These exercises have necessitated the requirement for visualizing microbial genomes and performing genome comparisons on a finer scale. We have developed GenomeViz to enable rapid visualization and subsequent comparisons of several microbial genomes in an interactive environment.

Results

Here we describe a program that allows visualization of both qualitative and quantitative information from complete and partially sequenced microbial genomes. Using GenomeViz, data deriving from studies on genomic islands, gene/protein classifications, GC content, GC skew, whole genome alignments, microarrays and proteomics may be plotted. Several genomes can be visualized interactively at the same time from a comparative genomic perspective and publication quality circular genome plots can be created.

Conclusions

GenomeViz should allow researchers to perform visualization and comparative analysis of up to eight different microbial genomes simultaneously.

     

Use of genome information for the study of the pathogenesis of fungal infections and the development of diagnostic tools

One of the most exciting advances in Mycology is the application of genomic approaches. The advent of genomics, together with post-genomic studies, promises to revolutionize the studies on the pathogenesis of fungal infections. Approaches include comparative genomics to identify sequences that contribute to infection and disease and functional genomics and proteomics to analyze global patterns of gene and protein expression involved in fungal pathogenesis.     

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Biological Processes and Responses of the Bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 upon Deletion of Its Mercury Methylation Genes

Recent studies of microbial mercury (Hg) methylation revealed a key gene pair, hgcAB, which is essential for methylmercury (MeHg) production in the environment. However, many aspects of the mechanism and biological processes underlying Hg methylation, as well as any additional physiological functions of the hgcAB genes, remain unknown. Here, quantitative proteomics are used to identify changes in potential functional processes related to hgcAB gene deletion in the Hg‐methylating bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132. Global proteomics analyses indicate that the wild type and ΔhgcAB strains are similar with respect to the whole proteome and the identified number of proteins, but differ significantly in the abundance of specific proteins. The authors observe changes in the abundance of proteins related to the glycolysis pathway and one‐carbon metabolism, suggesting that the hgcAB gene pair is linked to carbon metabolism. Unexpectedly, the authors find that the deletion of hgcAB significantly impacts a range of metal transport proteins, specifically membrane efflux pumps such as those associated with heavy metal copper (Cu) export, leading to decreased Cu uptake in the ΔhgcAB mutant. This observation indicates possible linkages between this set of proteins and metal homeostasis in the cell. However, hgcAB gene expression is not induced by Hg, as evidenced by similarly low abundance of HgcA and HgcB proteins in the absence or presence of Hg (500 nm ). Taken together, these results suggest an apparent link between HgcAB, one‐carbon metabolism, and metal homeostasis, thereby providing insights for further exploration of biochemical mechanisms and biological functions of microbial Hg methylation.     

Comparative proteogenomics of twelve Roseobacter exoproteomes reveals different adaptive strategies among these marine bacteria

Roseobacters are generalist bacteria abundantly found in the oceans. Because little is known on how marine microorganisms interact in association or competition, we focused our attention on the microbial exoproteome, a key component in their interaction with extracellular milieu. Here we present a comparative analysis of the theoretically encoded exoproteome of twelve members of the Roseobacter group validated by extensive comparative proteogenomics. In silico analysis revealed that 30% of the encoded proteome of these microorganisms could be exported. The ratio of the different protein categories varied in accordance to the ecological distinctness of each strain, a trait reinforced by quantitative proteomics data. Despite the interspecies variations found, the most abundantly detected proteins by shotgun proteomics were from transporter, adhesion, motility, and toxin-like protein categories, defining four different plausible adaptive strategies within the Roseobacter group. In some strains the toxin-secretion strategy was over-represented with repeats-in-toxin-like proteins. Our results show that exoproteomes strongly depend on bacterial trophic strategy and can slightly change because of culture conditions. Simulated natural conditions and the effect of the indigenous microbial community on the exoproteome of Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3 were also assayed. Interestingly, we observed a significant depletion of the toxin-like proteins usually secreted by R. pomeroyi DSS-3 when grown in presence of a natural community sampled from a Mediterranean Sea port. The significance of this specific fraction of the exoproteome is discussed.     

When peptides fly: Advances in Drosophila proteomics

In the past decade, improvements in genome annotation, protein fractionation methods and mass spectrometry instrumentation resulted in rapid growth of Drosophila proteomics. This review presents the current status of proteomics research in the fly. Areas that have seen major advances in recent years include efforts to map and catalog the Drosophila proteome and high-throughput as well as targeted studies to analyze protein–protein interactions and post-translational modifications. Stable isotope labeling of flies and other applications of quantitative proteomics have opened up new possibilities for functional analyses. It is clear that proteomics is becoming an indispensable tool in Drosophila systems biology research that adds a unique dimension to studying gene function.