A Protein Complex Map of Trypanosoma brucei

The functions of the majority of trypanosomatid-specific proteins are unknown,hindering our understanding of the biology and pathogenesis of trypanosomatida. while protein-protein interactions are highly informative about protein function,a global map of protein interactions and complexes is still lacking for these important human parasites. here,benefiting from in-depth biochemical fractionation,we systematically interrogated the co-complex interactions of more than 3354 protein groups in procyclic life stage of trypanosoma brucei,the protozoan parasite responsible for human african trypanosomiasis. using a rigorous methodology,our analysis led to identification of 128 high-confidence complexes encompassing 716 protein groups,including 635 protein groups that lacked experimental annotation. these complexes correlate well with known pathways as well as for proteins co-expressed across the t. brucei life cycle,and provide potential functions for a large number of previously uncharacterized proteins. we validated the functions of several novel proteins associated with the rna-editing machinery,identifying a candidate potentially involved in the mitochondrial post-transcriptional regulation of t. brucei. our data provide an unprecedented view of the protein complex map of t. brucei,and serve as a reliable resource for further characterization of trypanosomatid proteins. the presented results in this study are available at: www.trypsnetdb.org. © 2016 gazestani et al.