Global analysis of protein expression in yeast

Abstract

The availability of complete genomic sequences and technologies that allow comprehensive analysis of global expression profiles of messenger RNA^1,2,3 have greatly expanded our ability to monitor the internal state of a cell. Yet biological systems ultimately need to be explained in terms of the activity, regulation and modification of proteins—and the ubiquitous occurrence of post-transcriptional regulation makes mRNA an imperfect proxy for such information. To facilitate global protein analyses, we have created a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fusion library where each open reading frame is tagged with a high-affinity epitope and expressed from its natural chromosomal location. Through immunodetection of the common tag, we obtain a census of proteins expressed during log-phase growth and measurements of their absolute levels. We find that about 80% of the proteome is expressed during normal growth conditions, and, using additional sequence information, we systematically identify misannotated genes. The abundance of proteins ranges from fewer than 50 to more than 10⁶ molecules per cell. Many of these molecules, including essential proteins and most transcription factors, are present at levels that are not readily detectable by other proteomic techniques nor predictable by mRNA levels or codon bias measurements.