Proteomic analysis of zebrafish development

Abstract

Our proteomics approach provides a novel perspective towards analysing the zebrafish experimental model. Protein expression patterns throughout its early development from 6 hpf to 1-week-old were analysed using 2D gel electrophoresis. An average of 2510 protein spots were detected at each of the ten selected stages. While no dramatic change in profiles of abundant proteins was observed prior to 18 hpf, major changes were observed in subsequent stages, indicating a strong correlation between protein patterns and morphological changes. ~50% of the proteins detected at 6 hpf were detectable throughout all the stages examined; thus about half of these most abundant proteins remain strongly expressed throughout embryogenesis. 108 unique protein spots were positively identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and catalogued. Some proteins displayed developmentally regulated expression profiles. Comparison of protein expression data with available DNA microarray data indicated that mRNA abundance is non-indicative of protein level, thus reinforcing the importance of proteomics.