title: Proteomics applications in Caenorhabditis elegans research.
abstract: The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the most studied models in a wide variety of research fields with applications in agro- or pharmaceutical industries. It has been used for the development of new anthelminthic drugs and was proven to yield key insights in neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic syndromes. Due to its suitability for high-throughput genetic screens, efficiency for RNA interference approaches and the availability of thousands of mutants, most studies were carried out at the genetic level. However, determining the cellular function of each gene product remains an unfinished goal in this post-genomic era. A systems biology approach focusing on the actual gene products (i.e. proteins) can help unraveling this puzzle. A fundamental pillar in this research is mass spectrometry-based proteomics. We here provide an in-depth overview of proteomics-related studies in C. elegans research, with special emphasis on the methodologies and biological applications.
authors.affiliation: Systemic Physiological & Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Center for Proteomics (CFP-CEPROMA), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: steven.husson@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Husson
authors.affiliation: Systemic Physiological & Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moyson
authors.affiliation: Center for Proteomics (CFP-CEPROMA), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium; Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics, UHasselt, Agoralaan 1, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valkenborg
authors.affiliation: Center for Proteomics (CFP-CEPROMA), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baggerman
authors.affiliation: Center for Proteomics (CFP-CEPROMA), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mertens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D020543:Proteome
keywords: Biological applications; Caenorhabditis elegans; Peptidomics; Proteomics; Systems biology