Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Feb;3(2):179-89.
doi: 10.1038/ismej.2008.108. Epub 2008 Oct 30.

Shotgun metaproteomics of the human distal gut microbiota

Nathan C Verberkmoes  1 , Alison L Russell, Manesh Shah, Adam Godzik, Magnus Rosenquist, Jonas Halfvarson, Mark G Lefsrud, Juha Apajalahti, Curt Tysk, Robert L Hettich, Janet K Jansson
Affiliations
Free article

Shotgun metaproteomics of the human distal gut microbiota

Nathan C Verberkmoes et al. ISME J. 2009 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

The human gut contains a dense, complex and diverse microbial community, comprising the gut microbiome. Metagenomics has recently revealed the composition of genes in the gut microbiome, but provides no direct information about which genes are expressed or functioning. Therefore, our goal was to develop a novel approach to directly identify microbial proteins in fecal samples to gain information about the genes expressed and about key microbial functions in the human gut. We used a non-targeted, shotgun mass spectrometry-based whole community proteomics, or metaproteomics, approach for the first deep proteome measurements of thousands of proteins in human fecal samples, thus demonstrating this approach on the most complex sample type to date. The resulting metaproteomes had a skewed distribution relative to the metagenome, with more proteins for translation, energy production and carbohydrate metabolism when compared to what was earlier predicted from metagenomics. Human proteins, including antimicrobial peptides, were also identified, providing a non-targeted glimpse of the host response to the microbiota. Several unknown proteins represented previously undescribed microbial pathways or host immune responses, revealing a novel complex interplay between the human host and its associated microbes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types