Protein-species quantitative venomics: looking through a crystal ball

J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2017 Apr 28;23:27. doi: 10.1186/s40409-017-0116-9. eCollection 2017. . Calvete JJ1, Petras D2, Calderón-Celis F3, Lomonte B4, Encinar JR3, Sanz-Medel A3. Author information 1 Structural and Functional Venomics Laboratory, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, C.S.I.C, Jaime Roig 11, 46010 Valencia, Spain. 2 Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA. 3 Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. 4 Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. Abstract In this paper we discuss recent significant developments in the field of venom research, specifically the emergence of top-down proteomic applications that allow achieving compositional resolution at the level of the protein species present in the venom, and the absolute quantification of the venom proteins (the term "protein species" is used here to refer to all the different molecular forms in which a protein can be found. Please consult the special issue of Jornal of Proteomics "Towards deciphering proteomes via the proteoform, protein speciation, moonlighting and protein code concepts" published in 2016, vol. 134, pages 1-202). Challenges remain to be solved in order to achieve a compact and automated platform with which to routinely carry out comprehensive quantitative analysis of all toxins present in a venom. This short essay reflects the authors' view of the immediate future in this direction for the proteomic analysis of venoms, particularly of snakes. KEYWORDS: Absolute quantification; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Protein species-resolved venomics; Snake venomics; Top-down proteomics; Top-down venomics PMID: 28465678 PMCID: PMC5408492 DOI: 10.1186/s40409-017-0116-9 Free PMC Article Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ Images from this publication.See all images (4)Free text Fig. 1Fig. 2Fig. 3Fig. 4 Publication type