Insight on the meat quality and carbonylation profile of breast muscle of broilers in response to chronic heat stress: A proteomic research

This study was conducted to explore the influences of carbonyl modification on proteins within the breast muscle of heat-stressed broilers and their correlations to decreased meat quality. The results showed that birds that suffered from heat stress had higher lightness, drip loss, shear force value, and hardness, and lower redness and springiness of breast meat than those under normal control and pair fed treatments. Proteomic analysis identified a total of 921 differentially carbonylated sites, which were allocated to 419 proteins. The modified sites included Lys, Pro, Arg, Trp, Cys, His, and Met. Seven motif sequences were detected, where five motifs neighbored Lys and two neighbored Pro. The differentially carbonylated proteins in heat-stressed birds mainly participated in the glycolytic process, collagen fibril organization, calcium homeostasis, and apoptosis. This study provided a unique landscape of the muscular carbonyl modification rule and unraveled the potential impact of carbonylated protein on meat quality.