A detailed understanding of bacterial cellular functioning relies on comprehensive knowledge of their proteins and their activities. In addition to being regulated at the level of expression and stability, protein activity can also be modulated by post-translational modifications. In this context, the construction of proteomic atlases that include an inventory of these modifications represents a strategic challenge for fundamental biology, microbiology, and biotechnology.
In a study published in the Journal of Proteome Research, an international research consortium, including Florence Ploetze, presents the first structured and integrated version of the Escherichia coli PeptideAtlas — a reference resource dedicated to mapping the pan-proteome and post-translational modifications of proteins in this model bacterium. This database compiles, harmonizes, and analyzes a massive volume of proteomic data derived from multiple independent studies, including one generated by the consortium itself, providing a global view of the proteins that are effectively expressed and their post-translational modifications.
This study highlights the functional diversity of proteins, the dynamics of their expression under different physiological conditions, and the biological importance of post-translational modifications in regulating cellular processes. It provides a durable reference tool for research in bacterial biology, facilitating functional protein exploration, cellular network modeling, and the development of new approaches in biotechnology and synthetic biology.
