Shotgun proteomics: future perspective in bioanalysis

“...much remains to be done to achieve the comprehensive analyses of proteomes on a routine basis ... It could well be that we need a radical rethink of existing strategies to achieve this goal.” Unlike shotgun marriages, shotgun proteomic studies are usually a solid and long-lasting basis for future success. The concept derives from shotgun DNA sequencing, in which long stretches of DNA are fragmented to simplify their analysis. By analogy, shotgun proteomics involves digesting complex mixtures of proteins to produce peptides that are more readily fractionated and characterized. Partial fragmentation of each peptide using MS/MS makes it possible to...