Sipros Ensemble Improves Database Searching and Filtering for Complex Metaproteomics

Complex microbial communities can be characterized by metagenomics and metaproteomics. However, metagenome assemblies often generate enormous, and yet incomplete, protein databases, which undermines the identification of peptides and proteins in metaproteomics. This challenge calls for increased discrimination of target identifications from decoy identifications by database searching and filtering algorithms in metaproteomics. Sipros Ensemble was developed here for metaproteomics using an ensemble approach to addressing this challenge.