Intestinal health research and proteomics, a well-matched couple

Proteomics can be defined as a field of systems biology oriented at the study of the proteins present in an organism, tissue or cell under determined conditions. A wide variety of techniques can be employed in proteomics, with different objectives, advantages and disadvantages. The use of proteomics is nowadays becoming very popular in animal sciences, and proteomics is considered a useful tool to explore at the protein level the changes that occur under different conditions, at particular events and/or challenges in the intestinal system. In this chapter, we will give an overview of the proteomic techniques that can be used in intestinal studies in farm animals. Furthermore, possible applications of these methods will be outlined by summarizing the most important examples extracted from literature