Q&A: Matthias Mann on Mass Spectrometry, Human Proteome Project, and His Own Research

February 19, 2009

By Tony Fong

In the second of a two-part interview, Mann, center director of the Max Planck Institute’s department of proteomics and signal transduction, shares his thoughts about the development of mass spectrometry as the dominant technology in proteomics, the proposal to map the human proteome, and his own work.

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Papers of Note

Connection Between Epigenome, Selective Mutability, Evolution, and Human Disease
Li, Harris et al., PLoS Genetics
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and elsewhere propose a "connection between the epigenome, selective mutability, evolution, and human disease" based on the findings of their study on associations of structural mutability with germline DNA methylation and with non-allelic homologous recombination mediated by low-copy repeats. "Combined evidence from four human sperm methylome maps, human genome evolution, structural polymorphisms in the human population, and previous genomic and disease studies consistently points to a strong association of germline hypomethylation and genomic instability," the Baylor-led team writes.

Genetic Data for Modern Genetic Breeds 'Have Yet to Shed Light on Dog Origins'
Larson, Karlsson et al., PNAS
A team led by researchers at the University of Durham investigate the value of modern genetic data to elucidate the origins of dog domestication by analyzing 49,024 autosomal SNPs in 19 wolves and 1,375 dogs, representing 35 breeds. The team reports having uncovered conflicting evidence when correlating the earliest archeological dogs with the geographic locations of 14 breeds thought to be ancient. "These genetically distinct ancient breeds only appear so because of their relative isolation, suggesting that studies of modern breeds have yet to shed light on dog origins," the authors write.
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Funding
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Genome Technology Magazine
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Q&A: Matthias Mann on Mass Spectrometry, Human Proteome Project, and His Own Research

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Young Investigator Profile

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