Extreme challenges and advances in archaeal proteomics

Archaea display amazing physiological properties that are of interest to understand at the molecular level including the ability to thrive at extreme environmental conditions, the presence of novel metabolic pathways (e.g. methanogenesis, methylaspartate cycle) and the use of eukaryotic-like protein machineries for basic cellular functions. Coupling traditional genetic and biochemical approaches with advanced technologies, such as genomics and proteomics, provides an avenue for scientists to discover new aspects related to the molecular physiology of archaea. This review emphasizes the unusual properties of archaeal proteomes and how high-throughput and specialized mass spectrometry-based proteomic studies have provided insight into the molecular properties of archaeal cells.

► Archaea display amazing physiological properties that are of interest to understand at the molecular level.
► Proteomics provides an avenue for scientists to discover new aspects related to the molecular physiology of archaea.
► Unusual properties of archaeal proteomes are highlighted in this review.
► High-throughput and specialized mass spectrometry-based proteomic studies of archaea are also described.