recap

17.5 recap

The proteome is the set of all proteins produced by a cell, tissue, or organism under specific conditions. The metabolome is the total content of small molecules, such as intermediates in primary metabolism, hormones, and secondary metabolites. The proteome and the metabolome can be analyzed using chemical methods that separate and identify molecules.

learning outcomes

You should be able to:

  • Summarize how chemical methods are used in proteomics.

  • Provide examples of applications of metabolomic data for human health.

Question 1

How is the proteome analyzed?

The proteome is analyzed by identifying large numbers of proteins using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and by identifying fragments of proteins by mass spectrometry.

Question 2

Why would it be useful to have a database of primary and secondary metabolites involved in human metabolism?

Patterns of metabolites correlate with different physiological states. The simplest example of why it would be useful to have a database of primary and secondary metabolites involved in human metabolism might be the high level of blood glucose that is associated with diabetes. Most diseases are more complex than this. Diagnosis may be helped by a pattern of metabolites in the metabolome.