Recent advances in yeast organelle and membrane proteomics

Yeast proteome research comprises two different aspects: with respect to systemic fungal infections (fungemias), invasive candidiasis, for instance by Candida albicans, is among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality particularly in the expanding population of immunocompromised patients, which rises a high medical and pharmaceutical interest in this facultative pathogenic organism. Apart from its clinical relevance, yeast research moreover provides an indispensable source of knowledge regarding fundamental biochemical processes of eukaryotic cells. In this context, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is, in addition to its multiple industrial applications, one of the most extensively used microorganisms and serves as the best understood eukaryotic model system so far. Consequently, numerous studies have focused on gaining insight into the yeast proteome, with protein MS providing a very efficient technology to cope with this task since it enables both protein identification and differential quantification of cellular material. In this review we present an overview of recent advances in yeast organelle and membrane proteomics focusing on the cell wall, plasma membrane, mitochondria and vacuole.