On Friday 29^th September the Institute of Food Research (IFR) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) will open a £1million suite of new facilities on the Norwich Research Park that will underpin essential food, plant and microbial research for the new century by providing access to a new technique, called proteomics. The new protein identification equipment will allow the Institutes' researchers, and their collaborators, to identify proteins from any organism and relate them to the genome sequence, in a fraction of the time previously needed.

"Proteomics essentially allows us to take a "snap-shot" of the number and types of proteins present in an organism or part of an organism", said Dr Mike Naldrett (head of the JIC facility). "These snap-shots are actually complex patterns of between several hundred and several thousand spots, each one representing a single protein".

Dr Nick Walton (head of the IFR facility) continued "the exciting potential of proteomics is that we can compare patterns and identify the proteins that are different between one pattern and another. This allows us, for example, to identify the differences at the protein level between harmless and harmful strains of the same bacteria or organisms that are suffering stress". The proteins can then be linked back to the genes that produce them, greatly increasing our understanding of the biology and the genome of the organisms studied.

The opening day will be marked by a one-day symposium 'Proteomics - Myths and Reality', to be held at the John Innes Centre Lecture Theatre. The opening ceremony will be performed by Professor Ray Baker, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Eminent UK scientists will attend the symposium to discuss the role of proteomics in the identification of proteins and the understanding of the genome.

The facility is funded by BBSRC through Joint Research Equipment Initiative grants to IFR and JIC. Industrial support for equipment purchase was provided by Bruker, Micromass and Genomic Solutions. Unilever and Zeneca Agrochemicals contributed to the purchase of one of the mass spectrometers and have also funded a five year research fellowship.

"A particularly exciting feature of this joint facility is that it will contribute to research that adopts a more holistic approach to studying the food chain, than in the past, for example, by encompassing crop genetics, food processing and the role of diet in health. The partnership between public funding and support from instrument manufacturers and biotechnology companies, that has resulted in the new facility, means that we have the best possible opportunity to ensure that the results of this research are translated quickly into tangible benefits," says Professor Ray Baker, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Dr Mike Naldrett is working with Andrew Bottrill and Carol Gormal at JIC. Drs Nick Walton, Fran Mulholland and Barry Perry are responsible for proteomics at IFR, in conjunction with Dr Fred Mellon in mass spectrometry.

Notes for editors:

• The genome is the complete set of genes found in an organism.

• The Institute of Food Research is a centre for independent basic, and strategic research on food safety, quality, nutrition and health, of acknowledged international status. Its staff of 290 is complemented by many visiting scientists and postgraduate students each year from all parts of the world, who visit IFR for collaborative research and training. The IFR is grant-aided by the BBSRC.

• The John Innes Centre, is an independent, world-leading research centre in plant and microbial sciences. The JIC has over 850 staff and students. JIC carries out high quality fundamental, strategic and applied research to understand how plants and microbes work at the molecular, cellular and genetic levels. The JIC also trains scientists and students, collaborates with many other research laboratories and communicates its science to end-users and the general public. The JIC is grant-aided by the BBSRC.

• The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is a non-departmental public body principally funded through the Science Budget by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. Its purpose is to sustain a broad base of interdisciplinary research and training to help industry, commerce and Government create wealth and improve the quality of life. The Council fosters multi-disciplinary approaches; there are opportunities for contributions from chemists, physicists, agricultural scientists and engineers, as well as biologists.

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