Exploring mixed microbial community functioning: recent advances in metaproteomics

Abstract System approaches to elucidate ecosystem functioning constitute an emerging area of research within microbial ecology. Such approaches aim at investigating all levels of biological information (DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites) to capture the functional interactions occurring in a given e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS microbiology ecology 2012-05, Vol.80 (2), p.265-280
Main Authors: Siggins, Alma, Gunnigle, Eoin, Abram, Florence
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
bioengineered systems
Bioengineering
Biological and medical sciences
Ecological function
Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Environment
Environmental Microbiology
environmental proteomics
Freshwater environments
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
human gut microbiota
Humans
marine and freshwater environment
Metabolites
Metagenome
Metagenomics
Microbial ecology
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Minireview
Proteome - metabolism
Proteomics - trends
Sea water ecosystems
soil
Synecology
Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water)
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Summary:Abstract System approaches to elucidate ecosystem functioning constitute an emerging area of research within microbial ecology. Such approaches aim at investigating all levels of biological information (DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites) to capture the functional interactions occurring in a given ecosystem and track down characteristics that could not be accessed by the study of isolated components. In this context, the study of the proteins collectively expressed by all the microorganisms present within an ecosystem (metaproteomics) is not only crucial but can also provide insights into microbial functionality. Overall, the success of metaproteomics is closely linked to metagenomics, and with the exponential increase in the availability of metagenome sequences, this field of research is starting to experience generation of an overwhelming amount of data, which requires systematic analysis. Metaproteomics has been employed in very diverse environments, and this review discusses the recent advances achieved in the context of human biology, soil, marine and freshwater environments as well as natural and bioengineered systems.
ISSN:0168-6496
1574-6941
1574-6941
DOI:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01284.x