Proteom

Proteom, often spelled proteome in English, denotes the complete set of proteins produced or modified by a cell, tissue, organism, or biological sample at a given time. It encompasses the diversity of protein forms arising from gene expression, alternative splicing, and post-translational modifications, as well as proteolytic processing and interactions. The proteome is dynamic and context-dependent, changing with development, environment, and cellular state, which contrasts with the relatively static reference genome.

Proteomics is the field devoted to studying proteom at large scale. Its goals include identifying, cataloging, and quantifying proteins, characterizing their modifications, interactions, structures, and functions, and integrating this information into biological models. Core technologies include mass spectrometry–based proteomics (often LC-MS/MS) for protein identification and quantification, along with complementary methods such as 2D gel electrophoresis and protein microarrays. Data analysis relies on bioinformatics and joining data with genomic and transcriptomic information in resources such as UniProt, ProteomeXchange, and PRIDE.

Applications include biomarker discovery, mapping signaling pathways, elucidating disease mechanisms, and informing drug discovery. Limitations include incomplete proteome coverage, dynamic range issues, and the challenge of characterizing proteoforms and transient interactions. The term Proteom is used in some languages to refer to the proteome; in English, proteome is more common.