During the past 15 years mass spectrometry (MS)-based analyses have become established as the method of choice for direct protein identification and measurement. Owing to the remarkable improvements in the sensitivity and resolution of MS instruments, this technology has revolutionised the opportunities available for the system-wide characterisation of proteins, with wide applications across virtually the whole of cell biology. In this article we provide a perspective on the current state of the art and discuss how the future of cell biology research may benefit from further developments and applications in the field of MS and proteomics, highlighting the major challenges ahead for the community in organising the effective sharing and integration of the resulting data mountain.
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