Visual account of protein investment in cellular functions

Significance Proteins, which constitute roughly half of the cell dry mass, are extremely diverse. By counting the protein copy number of each gene in the genome, we obtain the proteome—a comprehensive picture of a cell's biochemical machinery. The proteome reflects physiology, structure, metabolic capacities, and many other aspects of the cell's lifestyle. Here, we visualize quantitative proteome data using a graphical tool we call proteomaps, where proteins are shown as polygons whose sizes indicate the abundances. Proteins involved in similar cellular functions are arranged in adjacent locations, creating regions whose areas give insight into the relative investment in each functional class. Proteins or protein classes that dominate the proteomap indicate demanding cellular processes and promising targets for further research.