Characterization of plant-bacterial interactions using proteomic approaches

The explosion in the amount of genomic information available has revolutionized almost every aspect of the life sciences including proteomics. In tandem with advances in genomics, considerable developments in proteomic tools and technologies have greatly facilitated the application of proteomics to tackle numerous biological questions. Many measurable characteristics of proteins, including expression levels, cellular distributions, interactions with other molecules, and post-translational modifications, influence and direct their functions in various cellular processes. Proteomic techniques, such as comparative proteomics, mass spectrometry-based identification of post-translational modifications, and protein arrays, can be employed to study these aspects of proteins in a "host plus microbes" setting and in turn shed light on their interactions. This review summarizes the proteomic techniques applicable to host-microbial relations, with a particular focus on plant-bacterial interactions. This article also provides a comprehensive overview of the applications of proteomics in plant-bacterial interactions, including some of the most recent progress in the field.