Microbial proteomics: the quiet revolution

Abstract

Technological developments in DNA sequencing and their application to study thousands of microbial genomes or even microbial ecosystems still today often make the headlines of general newspapers and scientific journals. These revolutionary changes are hiding another revolution that is unfolding more quietly in the background: the development of microbial proteomics to study genome expression products. It is important to recognize that while DNA sequencing reveals extensive details about the genomic potential of an organism or community, proteomic measurements reveal the functional gene products that are present and operational under specific environmental conditions, and thus perhaps better characterize the critical biomolecules that execute the life processes (enzymes, signaling, structural factors, etc.).