Streamlined Tandem Mass Tag (SL-TMT) Protocol: An Efficient Strategy for Quantitative (Phospho)proteome Profiling Using Tandem Mass Tag-Synchronous Precursor Selection-MS3

Abstract

Mass spectrometry (MS) coupled toisobaric labeling has developed rapidly into a powerful strategy for high-throughput protein quantification. Sample multiplexing and exceptional sensitivity allow for the quantification of tens of thousands of peptides and, by inference, thousands of proteins from multiple samples in a single MS experiment. Accurate quantification demands a consistent and robust sample-preparation strategy. Here, we present a detailed workflow for SPS-MS3-based quantitative abundance profiling of tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeled proteins and phosphopeptides that we have named the streamlined (SL)-TMT protocol. We describe a universally applicable strategy that requires minimal individual sample processing and permits the seamless addition of a phosphopeptide enrichment step ("mini-phos") with little deviation from the deep proteome analysis. To showcase our workflow, we profile the proteome of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast grown with either glucose or pyruvate as the carbon source. Here, we have established a streamlined TMT protocol that enables deep proteome and medium-scale phosphoproteome analysis.