Abstract
Technological developments in DNA sequencing and their application to
study thousands of microbial genomes or even microbial ecosystems still today
often make the headlines of general newspapers and scientific journals. These
revolutionary changes are hiding another revolution that is unfolding more
quietly in the background: the development of microbial proteomics to study
genome expression products. It is important to recognize that while DNA
sequencing reveals extensive details about the genomic potential of an organism
or community, proteomic measurements reveal the functional gene products that
are present and operational under specific environmental conditions, and thus
perhaps better characterize the critical biomolecules that execute the life
processes (enzymes, signaling, structural factors, etc.).
