Proteomics approaches – their potential for answering complex questions in meat science research

Abstract

There is a consistent and growing need for livestock and meat producers to understand the factors that affect fresh meat quality and value. New information can be used to make precise changes in management or genetic selection to improve the ability to efficiently produce the high-quality meat that customers and consumers expect. The molecular composition of meat can explain the variation in the meat quality phenotype. The molecular phenotype includes the profile of all molecules in the proteome, metabolome, and lipidome. Because a high proportion of meat quality traits are affected by structural and metabolic proteins, identifying the proteomic phenotype associated with high-quality meat production will inform the development of strategies to consistently produce these products. There is a complexity in interpreting early post-mortem, post-rigour, and post-ageing muscle proteomes, and these phenotypes are distinct from those observed in living muscle. Investigations using proteomic tools must carefully ask direct questions in the context of post-mortem muscle. New technologies provide the opportunity to measure entire protein profiles, and even more information can be learned by defining the proteome of fractions of proteins separated based on their solubility and observed changes during the post-mortem conversion of muscle to meat. Targeted studies of how specific proteins that are known to directly affect meat quality, such as myoglobin and calpain, demonstrate that modifications of these proteins can affect their activity and how they contribute to meat quality. A holistic view of the meat proteome and recognising that it is specifically different than the muscle proteome will provide the meat science community with a starting point to use proteomic and other omic technologies to address these complex issues. This review aims to provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art in proteomics s in meat science research, highlighting recent advancements and perspectives for future research.HIGHLIGHTS Interpreting data on protein interactions in meat is challenging due to the vastly different intracellular environment compared to muscle. Omics approaches provide insights into the molecular processes underlying meat quality. Targeted proteomic approaches need to be considered to provide a fuller understanding of the changes important to meat quality.

Keywords

• meat quality
• proteomics
• tenderness
• skeletal muscle
• post-mortem muscle