Proteomic Exploration of Extremophiles

Improvements in genomic sequencing technology have accelerated the accumulation of gene information, leading to the emergence of proteomics as a powerful tool to study the functional genome. Specifically, the emergence of two technologies, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and high-throughput protein identification using mass spectrometry (MS), was a milestone in the development of proteomics. Due to bacteria having a simple genomic system and ease of sample preparation, these organisms were rapidly subjected to proteomic analyses. Bacterial proteomics is considered complementary to genomic analyses, including full-genome sequencing and transcriptomics. Proteomics has revealed novel and valuable information on gene products (i.e., proteins), including their translation level, posttranslational modifications, turnover, and localization. Recently, the proteomic approach was applied to the study of extremophiles. In this review, we briefly summarize recent proteomic technologies applicable to bacteria and archea extremophiles and review the literature describing proteomic research in these organisms. Finally, we discuss future perspectives on the use of proteomics to study extremophiles.