American Chemical Society, Journal of Proteome Research, 11(14), p. 4792-4804, 2015
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00575
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This study uses advanced proteogenomic approaches in a non-model organism to elucidate cardioprotective mechanisms used during mammalian hibernation. Mammalian hibernation is characterized by drastic reductions in body temperature, heart rate, metabolism and oxygen consumption. These changes pose significant challenges to the physiology of hibernators, especially for the heart, which maintains function throughout extreme conditions resembling ischemia and reperfusion. To identify novel cardioadaptive strategies we merged large-scale RNA-seq data with large-scale iTRAQ-based proteomic data in heart tissue from thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) throughout the circannual cycle. Protein identification and data analysis were run through Galaxy-P, a new multi-omic data analysis platform enabling effective integration of RNA-seq and MS/MS proteomic data. Galaxy-P uses flexible, modular workflows that combine customized sequence database searching and iTRAQ quantification to identify novel ground squirrel-specific protein sequences and provide insight into molecular mechanisms of hibernation. This study allowed for the quantification of 2007 identified cardiac proteins, including over 350 peptide sequences derived from previously uncharacterized protein products. Identification of these peptides allows for improved genomic annotation of this non-model organism, as well as identification of potential splice variants, mutations, or genome re-organization that provide insights into novel cardioprotective mechanisms used during hibernation.