Fig. 3

Comparative proteomics analysis of E. coli parent cells and minicells. A Venn diagram illustrating the overlap and unique distribution of identified proteins between E. coli parent cells and minicells. A total of 1345 proteins were shared between the two populations, while 22 proteins were uniquely detected in parent cells and 23 in minicells. B Volcano plot depicting the differential abundance of proteins in minicells and parent cells. The x-axis represents Log₂[fold-change], where fold-change = abundance of minicells / abundance of parent cells, and the y-axis denotes − Log₁₀[p-value]. Proteins significantly enriched in parent cells are shown in green (Log₂[fold-change] < -1), while those enriched in minicells are displayed in red (Log₂[fold-change] > 1). The dashed horizontal line indicates the significance threshold (p-value < 0.05). C Functional categorization of proteins based on enrichment in parent cells (gray) and minicells (yellow). Categories include transport, cell cycle, metabolic processes, cell organization, stress response, biological processes, DNA metabolism, and RNA metabolism. Bars represent the proportion of proteins identified within each functional category