Quantitation in Mass-Spectrometry-Based Proteomics

Mass-spectrometry-based proteomics, the large-scale analysis of proteins by mass spectrometry, has emerged as a new technology over the last decade and become routine in many plant biology laboratories. While early work consisted merely of listing proteins identified in a given organ or under different conditions of interest, there is a growing need to apply comparative and quantitative proteomics strategies toward gaining novel insights into functional aspects of plant proteins and their dynamics. However, during the transition from qualitative to quantitative protein analysis, the potential and challenges will be tightly coupled. Several strategies for differential proteomics that involve stable isotopes or label-free comparisons and their statistical assessment are possible, each having specific strengths and limitations. Furthermore, incomplete proteome coverage and restricted dynamic range still impose the strongest limitations to data throughput and precise quantitative analysis. This review gives an overview of the current state of the art in differential proteomics and possible strategies in data processing.