ARS | Publication request: Proteomics of mastitis causing Escherichia coli

Submitted to: Mastitis Council Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: November 23, 2008
Publication Date: January 25, 2009
Citation: Lippolis, J.D., Reinhardt, T.A., Kehrli Jr, M.E. 2009. Proteomics of mastitis causing Escherichia coli. Proceedings of National Mastitis Council. 48:236-237.

Technical Abstract: Mastitis remains the most prevalent disease in dairy cattle. The economic impact of mastitis on the dairy industry is estimated to be $2 billion per year. Mastitis involves a complex set of interactions between an invading pathogen and the host’s immune systems. Proteomics is a new tool used to study the dynamic interactions between an immune system whose goal is to detect and destroy pathogens and a microbe that must evade the immune system to survive. Proteomics is the large-scale study of protein expression, protein-protein interactions, or protein modifications. Unlike other methodologies that analyze a few proteins at a time, proteomics can analyze thousands of proteins in a single experiment. This ability provides a unique capability to demonstrate how cells dynamically respond to changes in their environment. Therefore, a goal of proteomics is to identify new and potentially unexpected changes in protein expression, interaction or modification as a result of an experimental treatment. In essence, a proteomic approach enables an investigator to step back and without prejudice, view the whole picture of cellular functions instead of one particular action of one protein. This type of research enables the discovery of unexpected connections between cellular processes as a precursor to new hypotheses. We applied this tool to investigate the proteome of both immune cells and pathogens.