AN ONLINE 2-DIMENSIONAL POLYACRYLAMIDE-GEL ELECTROPHORESIS PROTEIN DATABASE OF ADULT DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER

An annotated two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D P AGE) protein database of adult Drosophila melanogaster has been constr ucted, based on the protein patterns of heads, thoraces and abdomens o f adult: male and female Drosophila melanogaster. About 1200 major pro tein spots are catalogued. Common proteins, found in all body parts, a s well as bodypart- and sex-specifically expressed proteins are report ed. Of the major proteins, 91, or 7.5%, are differentially expressed i n the two sexes or in different body parts, at least in part reflectin g specific functional requirements. At the present time 43 proteins, o r about 3.5% of the detected proteins, have been identified. These dat a call be accessed interactively-from our World Wide Web (WWW) server through clickable inline gel images and hypertext: links. Identified p rotein spots are cross-referenced, through hypertext links, to the SWI SS-PROT annotated database of protein primary sequences and the Fly-Ba se database of Drosophila genomic data. Our reference gels Call be use d to gain immediate access to protein spot identify and to the pattern of differentially expressed proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. The work presented in this article ties together information from protein 2-D PAGE, molecular biology and genetics and offers a uniform way to a ccess this large volume of data.