Functional proteomics in Ciona intestinalis: a breakthrough in the exploration of the molecular and cellular mechanism of ascidian development.
Ascidians have been providing a unique experimental system for a variety of fields, including reproductive biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, immunology, and evolutional biology. Recent progress in the genome sequencing of Ciona intestinalis has led to the development of a great tool for investigating the gene functions and expressions involved in several biological events in ascidians. The disclosure of genomic information has ushered in the postgenomic era, spearheaded by extensive protein analysis. The characterization of the function, localization, and molecular interaction of cellular proteins results in a more direct description of the molecular mechanism underlying several biological processes. Proteomics in ascidians, however, has just recently appeared and is not well established yet. In this study, we give an outline of the technical processes used in proteomics and review the recent status of ascidian proteomics.
Inaba
Kazuo
K
Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shizuoka, Japan. inaba@kurofune.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp
Nomura
Mamoru
M
Nakajima
Ayako
A
Hozumi
Akiko
A
D000818:Animals; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology*; D040901:Proteomics