A proteome reference map for Vibrio cholerae El Tor

A proteome reference map has been constructed for Vibrio cholerae El Tor, in the p/ range of 4.0 to 7.0. The map is based on two-dimensional gels (2-D) and the identification, by peptide mass fingerprint, of proteins in 94 spots, corresponding to 80 abundant proteins. Two strains are compared, strain N16961 and a Latin American El Tor strain C3294. The consensus map contains 340 spots consistently seen with both strains grown in Luria-Bertani broth (LB) or minimal M9 medium. The results were obtained from nine gels run with 18 cm immobilized pH gradient strips and precast gels. The 2-D gels were anchored to real N16961 proteins identified by mass spectrometry. Various energy metabolism components and periplasmic ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter proteins were identified among the abundant proteins. Two isoforms of OmpU were found. Five operons are proposed and seven hypothetical proteins were experimentally confirmed. Comparisons are made with protein 2-D gels for a classical strain and to microarray analysis available for the N16961 El Tor strain. New results were obtained from the proteome analysis, indicating an abundance of periplasmic ABC transporter proteins not found in microarray studies.