Investigation of the role of spot pattern information in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis image registration

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DGE) images play an important role in the analysis of proteins in proteomics. The registration of 2DGE images is considered as one of key elements in protein identification while it is a difficult problem. This paper investigates the role of spot pattern information in 2DGE image registration by considering two registration schemes, all based on the principle of attraction. The results on both simulated and real gel images show that spot pattern information is pertinent information for 2DGE images registration, and that its use can significantly improve registration accuracy.