Unraveling proteome changes of Sunit lamb meat in different feeding regimes and its relationship to flavor analyzed by TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic

In order to explore the molecular mechanism of the effect of feeding regimes on lamb flavor, biceps femoris muscle samples from pasture-fed groups (PF) and concentrate-fed groups (CF) were chosen, and tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling combined with mass spectrometry (MS) was performed to find associations between flavor indicators and proteome profiles. The content and composition of amino acids and volatile flavor substances were better in the PF compared to the CF, with higher levels of some beneficial flavor components such as Arg, Pro Pentanal, Heptanal, Octanal, 1-octen-3-ol and 2,3-Octanedione. About 82 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis indicated that the pathways that may be associated with lamb flavor are focused on amino acid anabolism. These results provide a basis for further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of proteins in meat flavor regulation.