Typically, protein identification and quantitation is accomplished by electrophoretic separation of protein mixtures on 2-D gels followed by mass spectrometric analysis of individual protein spots. Interaction data is usually collected using the yeast two-hybrid assay system. Because of the high-throughput nature of proteomics projects, keeping track of and processing all of the data can become a juggling act. Fortunately, scientists conducting this type of research can find software products to assist them every step along the way.
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 Big Science: Potent software applications, either commercially available or free, empower scientists around the globe to pursue proteomics research. |
The first hurdle is to correctly identify spots on the 2-D gel that merit further examination. These spots are typically identified based on changes in the gel patterns under varying conditions (e.g., in normal vs. cancerous cells). The improved gel-to-gel and lab-to-lab reproducibility of 2-D gels resulting from the use ...
