Proteomics analysis to investigate the effect of oxidized protein on meat color and water holding capacity in Tan mutton under low temperature storage

This study aimed to investigate the effects of oxidized proteins on meat color and water holding capacity of Tan mutton stored at low temperatures and the correlation between oxidized proteins and meat quality. Compared with the fresh control group, a total of 1089 proteins were identified as shared proteins with different oxidation sites (DOSPs) in Tan mutton from three low temperature groups (−2, −18 and 4 °C). The number of oxidation sites in Tan mutton muscle stored at −2 °C was much higher than those at −18 and 4 °C. There were also differences in the degree and site of protein oxidation between different storage groups. Pearson's correlation analysis between 275 DOSPs and quality traits of the tan mutton muscle stored at low temperatures showed that 19 DOSPs were correlated closely with color (L*, a* and b*) and water holding (CeL, CL and DL). Among them, several proteins might be potential markers for color, and some proteins are good candidate predictors for water holding of Tan mutton muscle. Bioinformatics analysis showed that most of these proteins were structural proteins and metabolic enzymes, which may lead to the change of meat quality by affecting the microstructure and metabolic pathway of muscle.