Detection and Identification of Microbial Toxins by Proteomics Approaches

Microbial toxins such as bacterial exotoxins and endotoxins, as well as fungal metabolites (Mycotoxins), are all considered life-threatening components. These toxins are responsible for the emergence of a variety of diseases, particularly infectious diseases. The biological activities of microbial toxins produce severe changes in cells and cause tissue damage that can result in morbidity or even death. Various studies have focused on understanding the nature of pathogenic proteins and their interactions inside the host. Proteomics, as an innovative technique, has facilitated study of a biological system’s entire protein complement (proteome) of microorganisms and helped understand the consequences of environmental conditions on the proteomes of cells that are exposed to diverse conditions. Moreover, proteomic approaches facilitated identification of proteins and peptides as biological markers, which are considered the most appropriate data set for characterizing a biological system and provide detailed information on the biological processes that control toxin production. In general, proteomics grants the release of massive amounts of data and makes it readily accessible to the scientific community.