Bristol University: Scientists discover new method of gene identification

Scientists studying the genes and proteins of human cells infected with a common cold virus have identified a new gene identification technique that could increase the genetic information we hold on animals by around 70 to 80 per cent. The findings, published in Nature Methods, could revolutionise our understanding of animal genetics and disease, and improve our knowledge of dangerous viruses such as SARS that jump the species barrier from animals to humans.

Nature Methods abstract
Identification of proteins by tandem mass spectrometry requires a reference protein database, but these are only available for model species. Here we demonstrate that, for a non-model species, the sequencing of expressed mRNA can generate a protein database for mass spectrometry–based identification. This combination of high-throughput sequencing and protein identification technologies allows detection of genes and proteins. We use human cells infected with human adenovirus as a complex and dynamic model to demonstrate the robustness of this approach. Our proteomics informed by transcriptomics (PIT) technique identifies >99% of over 3,700 distinct proteins identified using traditional analysis that relies on comprehensive human and adenovirus protein lists. We show that this approach can also be used to highlight genes and proteins undergoing dynamic changes in post-transcriptional protein stability.
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