Poster #RP223
Bioinformatics for proteome imaging: Melanie's example
Daniel Walther*, Gérard Bouchet*, Sébastien Catherinet*, Stephane Pelhatre*, Marc Tuloup*, Patricia M. Palagi*, Ron D. Appel**
*Proteome Informatics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva; **Proteome Informatics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Computer Science Department, Geneva University, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland
Bioinformatics for proteomics has greatly evolved in the last twenty years, especially in the fields of 2-DE gel and mass spectrometry analysis. Melanie was among the pioneering bioinformatics software for 2-DE analysis and has been one of the leading software available on the market. Developed by the Proteome Informatics Group at the SIB, Melanie is currently empowering ImageMaster 2D Platinum 6.0.
Today, 2-DE gels share the proteomics landscape with other high-resolution separation techniques, such as liquid chromatography (LC) that, when combined with mass spectrometry (MS), produces large datasets. The two-dimensional visual representation of LC-MS data exploits the correlations that exist within datasets to help assessing issues such as the quality of the separation, the presence of artefacts, contaminants and post-translational modifications. Most importantly, it assists biomarkers tracking and peptide profiles comparison.
Melanie's algorithms and interface were adapted to the visualisation and analysis of LC-MS datasets. These developments demonstrate that proteome imaging follows a general schema. We present the Melanie features shared by ImageMaster and the MSight software for LC-MS analysis, as well as the specific characteristics of each one. Currently, Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) S.A. and GE Healthcare are commercializing ImageMaster, while MSight may be downloaded, free of charge, from the ExPASy Proteomics Web site at www.expasy.org/MSight/.