Meiosis, the developmental programme generating haploid gametes from diploid precursors, requires two cell divisions and many innovations. In budding yeast, a large number of genes are expressed exclusively during meiosis while others are repressed compared to vegetative growth. Microarray analysis has shown that gene expression during meiosis is highly regulated, and has been used to classify yeast genes according to meiotic temporal expression pattern. In this study, we have begun to investigate the kinetics of meiotic protein expression using a proteomics approach. 2-D DIGE was used to characterise the temporal protein expression patterns of the budding yeast pH 4-7 proteome in meiosis. More than 1400 meiotic protein spots were visualised and at least 63 spots were temporally regulated during meiosis in a statistically significant manner. Gel spots with significant expression changes were excised and 26 unique proteins were identified using LC-MS/MS. The identified proteins could be classified into functional categories and the genes encoding a number of these were previously shown to be involved in yeast sporulation and meiosis. This data set was used to assemble the first differential 2-D PAGE map of budding yeast meiosis, which can be accessed through a web server. This work represents one of the first quantitative proteomic analyses of meiosis in yeast and will provide a valuable resource for future investigations.

We have undertaken the identification of basic proteins (pH 6-11) of the human heart using 2-DE. Tissue from the left ventricle of human heart was lysed and proteins were separated in the first dimension on pH 6-11 IPG strips using paper-bridge loading followed by separation on 12% SDS polyacrylamide gels in the second dimension. Proteins were then identified by mass spectrometry and analysed using Proline, a proteomic data analysis platform that was developed in-house. The proteome map contains 176 identified spots with 151 unique proteins and has been made available as part of the UCD-2DPAGE database at http://proteomics-portal.ucd.ie:8082. The associated mass spectrometry data have been submitted to PRIDE (Accession number ♯10098). This reference map, and the other heart reference maps available through the UCD-2DPAGE database, will aid further proteomic studies of heart diseases such as dilated cardiomyopathy and ischaemic heart disease.

We describe a 2-DE proteomic reference map containing 227 basic proteins in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region of the human brain. Proteins were separated in the first dimension on pH 6-11 IPG strips using paper-bridge loading and on 12% SDS-PAGE in the second dimension. Proteins were subsequently identified by MS and spectra were analyzed using an in-house proteomics data analysis platform, Proline. The 2-DE reference map is available via the UCD 2-DE Proteome Database (http://proteomics-portal.ucd.ie:8082) and can also be accessed via the WORLD-2DPAGE Portal (http://www.expasy.ch/world-2dpage/). The associated protein identification data have been submitted to the PRIDE database (accession numbers 10018-10033). Separation of proteins in the basic region resolves more membrane associated proteins relevant to the synaptic pathology central to many neurological disorders. The 2-DE reference map will aid with further characterisation of neurological disorders such as bipolar and schizophrenia.

Meiosis is the cell division that generates haploid gametes from diploid precursors. To provide insight into the functional proteome of budding yeast during meiosis, a 2-D DIGE kinetic approach was used to study proteins in the pH 6-11 range. Nearly 600 protein spots were visualised and 79 spots exhibited statistically significant changes in abundance as cells progressed through meiosis. Expression changes of up to 41-fold were detected and protein sequence information was obtained for 48 spots. Single protein identifications were obtained for 21 spots including different gel mobility forms of 5 proteins. A large number of post-translational events are suggested for these proteins, including processing, modification and import. The data are incorporated into an online 2-DE map of meiotic proteins in budding yeast, which extends our initial DIGE investigation of proteins in the pH 4-7 range. Together, the analyses provide peptide sequence data for 84 protein spots, including 50 single-protein identifications and gel mobility isoforms of 8 proteins. The largest classes of identified proteins include carbon metabolism, protein catabolism, protein folding, protein synthesis and the oxidative stress response. A number of the corresponding genes are required for yeast meiosis and recent studies have identified similar classes of proteins expressed during mammalian meiosis. This proteomic investigation and the resulting protein reference map make an important contribution towards a more detailed molecular view of yeast meiosis.

This paper reports on the 5(th) joint British Society for Proteome Research (BSPR) and European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) meeting which took place at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Cambridge, UK, from the 8(th) to 10(th) July, 2008. As in previous years, the meeting attracted leading experts in the field who presented the latest cutting edge in proteomics. The meeting was entitled "Proteomics: From Technology to New Biology" taking into account the major transition proteomics has undergone in the past few years. In particular, the use of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based targeted experiments for absolute quantification and validation of proteins was the hot topic of the meeting. Attended by some 250 delegates, the conference was extremely well organised and provided a great opportunity for discussion and initiation of new collaborations.