This study compared the protein composition of M. longissimus thoracis of lambs from six commercial forage production systems in New Zealand. A total of 286 proteins were identified based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. First, a binomial model showed that different production groups could be distinguished based on abundances of 16 proteins. Second, pair-wise comparisons were performed to search for protein abundance differences in meat due to animal sex (ewe vs. wether), diet (perennial ryegrass vs. chicory), and age (4 vs. 6–8 months old). Greater abundance of some myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins were observed in lamb loins from ewes compared to wethers. Chicory diet and older age at slaughter were associated with meat with lower abundance of some myofibrillar proteins, possibly due to a greater proportion of muscle glycolytic fibres. The proteins that showed significant differences in their abundances due to production factors could be further investigated to understand their influence on meat quality.
History
Rights statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Language
English
Does this contain Māori information or data?
No
Publisher
MDPI
Journal title
Animals
ISSN
2304-8158
Citation
Ye, Y., Maes, E., Deb-Choudhury, S., Hefer, C. A., Schreurs, N. M., & Realini, C. E. (2022). Proteomic profile of M. longissimus thoracis from commercial lambs reared in different forage systems. Animals, 11(10), 1419. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11101419