Published by Oxford University Press [2006] on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology
Preface
Developments in biology have often been limited by the technologies available. The ability to sequence DNA and proteins has played a major role in advancing our understanding of biological systems, as they are the two major players in life's complex array of molecules controlling the composition and dynamics of cells. In the DNA area, completion of the sequencing of several whole genomes has pushed the scientific frontiers forward. The area of Transcriptomics, which is based on DNA microarray technology, allows the dynamics of cellular events to be reviewed rapidly at the mRNA level. Since it is proteins that are responsible for the execution of cellular function it is perhaps of greater importance to understand the changes which occur at the protein level, and their dynamics, rather than changes at the mRNA level which may not correlate with protein changes.Proteomics, which was conceived as the analysis of the protein complement of the genome, has rapidly expanded to become the study of the dynamics of proteins in cells and tissues. Work in this area is complicated by the analytical challenges associated with proteomic investigations. These include methods for sample preparation, resolution of mixtures, detailed assignment of proteins of interest, and the technical design of experiments allowing for statistically valid conclusions to be made. Developments in mass spectroscopy, both MALDI-TOF and tandem MS-MS sequencing, and use of ‘top-down approaches’ have dramatically changed our ability to identify proteins. The world of proteins is made somewhat more complex due to the multitude of post-translational modifications that can occur and the effect these modifications have on their biological properties. This adds to the problem of protein separation. This meeting was held to look at how proteomic technology is developing towards providing a platform to answer biological questions. A wide selection of internationally renowned scientists was deliberately chosen to try and cover as many of the aspects of this ‘technology’ as possible and we hope that this is reflected in the content of this special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany.
We would like to thank the following for their financial support of the special Proteomics session and the authors who so generously took extra time to produce a manuscript: Advanced Technologies Cambridge UK (ATC); Gatsby Charitable Foundation; GE Healthcare (Amersham Biosciences); Non Linear Dynamics; Society for Experimental Biology; Syngenta; Waters (Micromass).
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