Palaeoproteomics: a revolution in ancient biomolecular studies?

蛋白质组学是研究生命系统中蛋白质表达的科学，它被吹捧为继基因组研究之后的生物技术革命。如果基因组是食谱，那么蛋白质就是厨师、厨房用具和厨房产品。蛋白质组学研究与分析技术携手发展，其中包括提高了分析的速度、分辨率和灵敏度。古代蛋白质比古代DNA更丰富，通常也更健壮。蛋白质分析的速度、分辨率和灵敏度的提高，都有利于古代蛋白质的研究。这项提议寻求在密歇根州立大学和约克大学成功研究古代骨骼蛋白的基础上，用三个目标分子。骨钙素是坚固和丰富的，如果进步是速度和样本吞吐量可以利用，骨钙素可以被用来区分物种(例如，来自考古遗址的所有驯养动物)，即使是在残缺不全的煮熟的遗骸中-提供了一种完全不同的动物考古学调查方法。胶原蛋白是最丰富的骨蛋白。我们计划直接对人胶原蛋白进行测序(值得注意的是，这还没有完成)，以建立翻译后修饰的位置，然后利用这些信息来看看我们是否可以从16-18摄氏度的水手和捕鲸者身上检测到坏血病的证据。最后，我们将使用合成配体来尝试提取一种含量较少但在系统发育上更有信息的(血清)蛋白，白蛋白，以帮助了解维京梳子的早期贸易。

Proteomics, the study of protein expression in living systems, has been touted the biotechnological revolution to follow on from the study of the genome itself. If the genome is the recipe book, proteins are variously the cooks, the kitchenware and products of the kitchen. Proteomics research has developed hand in hand with analytical techniques which have amongst other advances, increased the speed, resolution and sensitivity of analysis. Ancient proteins are more abundant and generally more robust than ancient DNA. Increases in the speed, resolution and sensitivity of protein analysis, all profit the study of ancient proteins. This proposal seeks to build upon success at MSU and York in the study of ancient bone protein, with three target molecules. Osteocalcin, is robust and abundant, if advances is speed and sample throughput can be harnessed, osteocalcin could be used to discriminate between species (e.g. all domesticates from an archaeological site) even in fragmentary cooked remains - offering a radically different approach to zooarchaeological investigation. Collagen is the most abundant bone protein. We plan to directly sequence human collagen (remarkably this has not yet been done) to establish sites of post-translational modification, and then use this information to see if we can detect evidence of scurvy from 16th - 18th C sailors and whalers. Finally we will use synthetic ligands to try and extract a less abundant, but phylogentically more informative (serum) protein, albumin to help understand early trade in Viking combs.