Systematic mapping of protein-metabolite interactions with mass spectrometry-based techniques.

The recent rapid advance of systematic mapping of protein-metabolite interactions (PMIs) in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells has been catalyzed by development of innovative and effective proteomics or metabolomics strategies all based on large-scale mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of biomolecules. Both metabolite-centric and protein-centric approaches have been established to profile PMIs in the native cellular matrix treated by specific metabolites or proteins. Here we will review the development and application of versatile MS-based proteomics and metabolomics techniques for global PMI mapping in different species, which lead to the discovery of numerous uncharacterized PMIs that may reveal new interaction-derived functionality. We further discuss the strengths and limitations of different PMI mapping approaches as well as the key elements in MS quantification and data mining for reliable PMI identification.