Global proteomics analysis of the response to starvation in C. elegans

Periodic starvation of animals induces large shifts in metabolism, but may also influence many other cellular systems and can lead to adaption to prolonged starvation conditions. To date, there is limited understanding of how starvation affects gene expression, particularly at the protein level. Here, we have used mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics to identify global changes in the Caenorhabditis elegans proteome due to acute starvation of young adult animals. Measuring changes in abundance of over 5,000 proteins, we show that acute starvation rapidly alters the levels of hundreds of proteins, many involved in central metabolic pathways, highlighting key regulatory responses. Surprisingly, we also detect changes in the abundance of chromatin-associated proteins including specific linker histones, histone variants and histone post-translational modifications associated with the epigenetic control of gene expression. To maximise community access to these data, they are presented in an online searchable database, the Encyclopedia of Proteome Dynamics (http://www.peptracker.com/epd/).