A five-level classification system for proteoform identifications

International audienceTo the editorThe term proteoform, introduced in Nature Methods in 2013 (ref. 1), has rapidly gained acceptance in the proteomics community. The challenge and importance of comprehensively identifying proteoforms in complex samples has been recognized, and reports have begun to appear of new platforms towards that end2,3,4,5. However, one interesting central ambiguity has emerged, namely determining precisely what is meant by a ‘proteoform identification’. At present, the only practical approaches for establishing the exact primary structure of a proteoform employ mass spectrometry (MS), and a wide range of MS results claim proteoform identifications6. This seemingly small matter has significant impact, as the ambiguity in what is meant by an ‘identification’ makes it difficult to compare results from different laboratories and approaches. This situation hinders the ability of the community to evaluate technological progress and to efficiently expand biological knowledge