蛋白质作为参与构建生物体的重要生物大分子, 是生物功能与代谢的物质基础, 同时蛋白质的序列信息又源自生物的遗传编码信息, 因此是认识生物演化本质的重要研究对象。近年来, 随着质谱技术的发展, 获取生物化石中的古蛋白质序列信息不再遥不可及, 这为在形态学与DNA序列信息缺乏的条件下对古生物的认识提供了一条新途径。胶原蛋白(Collagen)在动物骨骼中极为丰富, 又因为其特殊的结构, 易于在化石中保存, 故已成为古蛋白质组学研究的重要对象。本文将以胶原蛋白为例, 对古蛋白质组学现有的研究方法与已经取得的研究成果进行总结, 并对古蛋白质组学目前面临的挑战与困难及未来研究趋势进行讨论, 旨在展示古蛋白质组学的应用潜力, 并探讨其在生物演化研究中的意义。

Proteins are macromolecules and they are the basis of many biological functions and metabolism. The sequence of the proteins is decided by genetic code. Therefore, proteins provide us unique information on evolution. Recent development in mass spectrometry technology makes it possible to obtain ancient protein sequence information from fossils, providing a new way to decipher the evolutionary secrets of animals from fossils when relevant morphological and DNA information is not available. Collagen is a widely distributed protein in bones. It has great preservation potential in fossils due to its special structure and has become a key research object in paleoproteomics. Using collagen as an example, this paper summarizes the research methods and research achievements of paleoproteomics and discusses the current challenges and future trends of this subject to show the application potential and research significance in paleontology.

国家自然科学基金(41922011, 41872016)、中国科学院战略性先导科技专项(B类) (XDB26000000)和中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金(0206-14380137)联合资助