Application of proteomics to understand the molecular mechanisms determining meat quality of beef muscles during postmortem aging

Proteomics profiling disclosed the molecular mechanism underlying beef poor meat quality. This study aimed to identify protein markers indicating the quality of beef during postmortem storage at 4°C. Beef longissimus dorsi samples were stored at 4°C. The meat water holding capacity (WHC), pH value and moisture content were determined at different time points during the storage period. The iTRAQ MS/MS approach was used to determine the proteomics profiling at 0, 3.5 and 7 d during storage at 4°C. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to investigate the potential correlated proteins associated with meat quality. Storage at 4°C gradually decreased the pH value, WHC, and hence the moisture content. The iTRAQ proteomic analysis revealed that a cluster of glycolytic enzymes including malate dehydrogenase, cytoplasmic, L-lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate mutase and pyruvate kinase, and another cluster of proteins involved in oxygen transport and binding (myoglobin) and hemoglobin complex (including Globin A1 and hemoglobin subunit alpha) were decreased during the postmortem storage. These results suggest that the decreased glycolysis, oxygen, and heme-binding activities might be associated with the beef muscle low quality and the decline of tenderness during postmortem storage at 4°C.