Proteomics and Metabolomics in Relation to Meat Quality

During the recent decades, proteomics and metabolomics approaches have been extensively integrated in methods for the assessment of meat quality. The high-throughput nature of these omics sciences has in fact been exploited in many different applications, ranging from the genetic fingerprinting of specific breeds and traits to the definition of phenotypes obtained with specific breeding programs or feeding and rearing conditions, to the study of the transformations occurring during and after meat processing. The present chapter aims at describing the main proteomics and metabolomics platforms and methods employed for the evaluation of meat quality. Although the literature mainly reports research studies carried out by applying such omics methods to pork and beef, this chapter plots future scenarios for the inclusion of proteomics and metabolomics in protocols specifically designed for investigations on poultry meat.