Proteomics
 |
Bldg: 202. Room: B117 |
To learn more about the research go to
http://proteomeweb.anl.gov
Proteomics is an area of research that seeks to identify the proteins in a biological system at a specific point in time and to understand variations in the abundance of those proteins as a function of cell growth environments. Proteomics researchers isolate, separate, identify, and characterize the proteins from biological systems to better understand what factors influence the relative abundance of those proteins, what functions/metabolic processes are represented by those proteins, and how those functions/metabolic processes are regulated.
Proteomics requires high-throughput methods for isolation, separation, quantification, and identification of hundreds of proteins from biological samples. At Argonne, the primary tool for protein separation and quantification is two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for protein identification. The Protein Mapping Group at Argonne is using a high-throughput, computer-directed 2DE system designed to generate gels in sets of 20, with a gel running capacity averaging 40 2DE separations per week, for a variety of proteomics projects. In an average experiment, Argonne researchers first separate protein mixtures by charge differences (isoelectric focusing), followed by separation based on size differences (polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate). Computer-assisted analysis is used to compare up to 1000 2DE patterns per data set to detect statistically significant differences in protein abundance that correlate with experimental parameters. Protein identifications are obtained by extracting protein from the 2DE gels, digesting with protein-specific cleaving agents (proteolytic enzymes such as trypsin), and determining the masses of the resulting peptides by using mass spectrometry. The masses observed are compared with predicted peptide masses available from gene sequence databases; matches provide the needed identifications.
Current Projects
The efforts of the Protein Mapping Group are currently focused on analysis of proteins from microbial systems pertinent to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research programs in bioremediation, energy production, and carbon management. The proteome studies in progress included the analysis of Shewanella spp., Geobacter spp., and Anaeromyxobacter spp. grown under a variety of environmental conditions. New efforts are also underway to isolate proteins form environmental samples with the goal of characterizing metabolic processes representative of microbial communities.
