Avian Proteomics

One of the primary goals of biology is to understand how organisms function on a molecular level. Knowing the complete genome sequence of an organism is crucial for understanding of its biology, because each genome contains information about all cellular activities and structures that are necessary for the formation, functioning and reproduction of an organism. This information is encoded in the genome in the form of genes, which are transcribed into ribonucleic acid (RNA) and then translated into proteins. While the genes provide instructions, RNA and proteins are the functional units of all biological processes and principal structural building blocks of all organisms. Because proteins are the "makers of life", understanding their functions is central to understanding biology. During the last decade, proteomics has emerged as an extremely versatile and comprehensive platform to study proteins on a large scale. It offers a broad range of tools that can be used to determine the identity, structure, quantity, and quality of expressed proteins in biological systems. Proteomics, together with other systems biology approaches, is increasingly used to discover operating mechanisms in the biological systems. This chapter reviews the most recent application of proteomics in studying various aspects of bird biology, including embryogenesis, development, metabolism, behavior, cognition, immunity, cancer, disease, and infection.