iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of Thermobifida fusca reveals metabolic pathways of cellulose utilization

Thermobifida fusca is an aerobic, thermophilic, cellulose degrading bacterium identified in heated organic materials. This study applied iTRAQ quantitative proteomic analysis to the cellular and membrane proteomes of T. fusca grown in presence and absence of cellulose to elucidate the cellular processes induced by cellulose nutrient. Using an iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic approach, 783 cytosolic and 181 membrane proteins expressed during cellulose hydrolysis were quantified with ≤1% false discovery rate. The comparative iTRAQ quantification revealed considerable induction in the expression levels and up-regulation of specific proteins in cellulosic medium than non-cellulosic medium. The regulated proteins in cellulosic medium were grouped under central carbohydrate metabolism such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathways, citric acid cycle, starch, sugars, pyruvate, propanoate and butanoate metabolism; energy metabolism that includes oxidative phosphorylation, nitrogen, methane and sulfur metabolism; fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolic pathways, purine and pyrimidine metabolism, and main cellular genetic information processing functions like replication, transcription, translation, and cell wall synthesis; and environmental information processing (membrane transport and signal transduction). The results demonstrated cellulose induced several metabolic pathways during cellulose utilization.