Mass spectrometry in plant proteomic analysis

Abstract

The current revolution in proteomics has been generated by the combination of very sensitive mass spectrometers coupled to microcapillary liquid chromatography, specific proteolysis of protein mixtures and software that is capable of searching vast numbers of mass measurements against predicted peptides from sequenced genomes. The challenges of post-genomic plant biology include characterization of protein function, post-translational modifications and composition of protein complexes as well as deciphering protein complements in intracellular compartments - proteomes of cell organelles. In this review we summarize the current mass spectrometry methods currently being used in plant proteomics and discuss the various tagging strategies that are being used for purification and proteomic analysis of plant protein complexes. © 2010 Società Botanica Italiana.