A generic protein purification method for protein complex characterization and proteome exploration.

We have developed a generic procedure to purify proteins expressed at their natural level under native conditions using a novel tandem affinity purification (TAP) tag. The TAP tag allows the rapid purification of complexes from a relatively small number of cells without prior knowledge of the complex composition, activity, or function. Combined with mass spectrometry, the TAP strategy allows for the identification of proteins interacting with a given target protein. The TAP method has been tested in yeast but should be applicable to other cells or organisms.