Proteomics in studying the molecular mechanism of fibre degradation.

Abstract

The degradation of plant cell walls by ruminants is of major economic importance in the developed as well as the developing world. Rumen fermentation and degradation of cell wall relies on the cooperation between the microorganisms that produce fibrolytic enzymes and the host animal, which provides an anaerobic fermentation chamber. From the 19th century, the efficiency with which the rumen microbiota degrades fibre has been the subject of extensive research. In this chapter, we will discuss various proteomic approaches such as protein fractionation (chromatography, isoelectric focusing), protein separation (two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis), in-gel digestion to peptides (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization, mass spectrometry or electrospray mass spectrometry), peptide separation (two-dimensional liquid chromatography), complex protein solution digestion to peptides (electrospray ionization or MALDI-tandem MS) and proteomics of fibrolytic bacteria, which can be used to improve our knowledge of the functional framework of plant cell wall degradation in the rumen.