Proteome research in food science

Abstract

The proteome is the totality of proteins present in a biological sample. In contrast to the static genome, the proteome is highly dynamic, influenced by the genome and many external factors, such as the state of development, tissue type, metabolic state, and various interactions. Thus, the proteome reflects very closely the biological (and chemical) processes occurring in a system. For proteome analysis, gel based and shotgun methods are most widely applied. Because of the potential to generate a systematic view of protein composition and biological as well as chemical interactions, the application of proteome analysis in food science is steadily growing. This tutorial review introduces several fields in food science, where proteomics has been successfully applied: analysis of food composition, safety assessment of genetically modified food, the search for marker proteins for food authentication, identification of food allergens, systematic analysis of the physiological activity of food, analysis of the effects of processing on food proteins and the improvement of food quality.