title: Marine metaproteomics: current status and future directions.
abstract: Metaproteomics is a new field within the 'omics' science which investigates protein expression from a complex biological system and provides direct evidence of physiological and metabolic activities. Characterization of the metaproteome will enhance our understanding of the microbial world and link microbial communities to ecological functions. Recently, the availability of extensive metagenomic sequences from various marine microbial communities has extended the postgenomic era to the field of oceanography. Although still in its infancy, metaproteomics has shown its powerful potential with regard to functional gene expression within microbial habitats and their interactions with the ambient environment as well as their biogeochemical functions. However, the application of metaproteomic approaches to complex marine samples still faces considerable challenges. This review summarizes the recent progress in marine metaproteomics and discusses the limitations of and perspectives for this approach in the study of the marine ecosystem. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Trends in Microbial Proteomics.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China. Electronic address: dzwang@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Da-Zhi
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Zhang-Xian
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Feng
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054892:Metagenome; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D014871:Water Microbiology
keywords: Biogeochemical cycle; Ecological function; Marine ecosystem; Metaproteomics; Microbial community