title: Biological X-ray absorption spectroscopy and metalloproteomics.
abstract: In the past seven years the size of the known protein sequence universe has been rapidly expanding. At present, more then five million entries are included in the UniProtKB/TrEMBL protein database. In this context, a retrospective evaluation of recent X-ray absorption studies is undertaken to assess its potential role in metalloproteomics. Metalloproteomics is the structural and functional characterization of metal-binding proteins. This is a new area of active research which has particular relevance to biology and for which X-ray absorption spectroscopy is ideally suited. In the last three years, biological X-ray absorption spectroscopy (BioXAS) has been included among the techniques used in post-genomics initiatives for metalloprotein characterization. The emphasis of this review is on the progress in BioXAS that has emerged from recent meetings in 2007-2008. Developments required to enable BioXAS studies to better contribute to metalloproteomics throughput are also discussed. Overall, this paper suggests that X-ray absorption spectroscopy could have a higher impact on metalloproteomics, contributing significantly to the understanding of metal site structures and of reaction mechanisms for metalloproteins.
authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France. isabella.ascone@synchrotron-soleil.fr
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ascone
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strange
mesh_terms: D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D008667:Metalloproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008667:Metalloproteins; D020543:Proteome