Mass spectrometry and the age of the proteome

Mass spectrometry has become an important technique to correlate proteins to their genes. This has been achieved, in part, by improvements in ionization and mass analysis techniques concurrently with large-scale DNA sequencing of whole genomes. Genome sequence information has provided a convenient and powerful resource for protein identification using data produced by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI/TOF) and tandem mass spectrometers. Both of these approaches have been applied to the identification of electrophoretically separated protein mixtures. New methods for the direct identification of proteins in mixtures using a combination of enzymatic proteolysis, liquid chromatographic separation, tandem mass spectrometry and computer algorithms which match peptide tandem mass spectra to sequences in the database are also emerging. This tutorial review describes the principles of ionization and mass analysis for peptide and protein analysis and then focuses on current methods employing MALDI and electrospray ionization for protein identification and sequencing. Database searching approaches to identify proteins using data produced by MALDI/TOF and tandem mass spectrometry are also discussed.