Proteomics

Edited by:
  • S R Pennington &
  • M J Dunn
BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd September 2000, £29.99/$44.95

As we all know, the human genome has recently been sequenced (see Nature 409, 745–964 and Science 291, 1153– 1369), and so now the attention of researchers everywhere must focus on the analysis of the proteome. Proteomics is a relatively new field of research that encompasses all recent developments in the analytical methods used to study protein characterisation. This new book is split into 15 chapters, each written by experts in the field from both academia and industry, to introduce the field of proteomics to a wide-ranging audience. The chapters cover an elementary introduction to the field by explaining the link between genomics and proteomics, and hence its importance. Early chapters in the book go on to detail the techniques used for proteome analysis: measurement of mRNA expression, protein detection, image analysis of 2D gels and the use of mass spectrometry to identify proteins and phosphorylation sites. These chapters explain the details behind the methods but readers will have to look elsewhere for the exact protocols needed to perform the complex procedures. However, these chapters are written in an easy to understand manner and will appeal to both undergraduates and new researchers in the field. Later chapters go on to discuss the implications of proteomics in an academic research environment and as a potential tool for plant genetics and breeding. These chapters also discuss the future for the proteomics field and its development within scientific

Although the book is pitched at final year undergraduates, all readers with a general interest in this fast expanding field will benefit from having a copy on their shelves.