Proteomics: a link between genomics, genetics and physiology

Thanks to spectacular advances in the techniques for identifying proteins s eparated by two-dimensional electrophoresis and in methods for large-scale analysis of proteome variations, proteomics is becoming an essential method ology in various fields of plant biology. In the study of pleiotropic effec ts of mutants and in the analysis of responses to hormones and to environme ntal changes, the identification of involved metabolic pathways can be dedu ced from the function of affected proteins. In molecular quantitative genet ics, proteomics can be used to map translated genes and loci controlling th eir expression, which can be used to identify proteins accounting for the v ariation of complex phenotypic traits. Linking gene expression to cell meta bolism on the one hand and to genetic maps on the other, proteomics is a ce ntral tool for functional genomics.