Biomarker development for meat quality in pork production chains for Spanish dry cured ham using proteomics technology

Improvement of the meat quality of pork is a major aim in pork production. Special products such as Spanish dry cured ham are produced from lines bred and managed especially for this aim. Establishing a standard high quality of the hams would increase profitability of this sector. Since the proteome of muscle tissue composes a major component of meat and changes in the proteome are related to meat quality we investigated the relationship between proteome profiles and meat quality traits. The longissimus muscle was sampled in 2 batches of pigs bred with a terminal Duroc boar that were managed with the aim of increasing intramuscular fat content for Spanish dry cured ham production. Each batch (N=70) consisted of pigs from 2 independent producers. The determined meat quality parameters included: drip loss, pH at 24 h, and IMF (measured in the gluteus medius). Furthermore several carcass parameters were measured including lean meat percentage and loin34FOM. Meat quality parameters did not differ between batches or producers. The proteome profiles of all samples were investigated with SELDI-TOF-MS technology using 3 different array types. Statistics were performed using the software provided with the equipment and with the Biomarker Patterns software. The results were analyzed for each batch independently and for the 2 batches taken together. To exclude false positives, only peaks that associated in all 3 analyses were regarded positive. We show statistically significant associations between a number of peaks indicated by the mass of the protein) and the meat quality traits mentioned above. The peaks may be composed of one or more proteins that could be used as biomarkers. Presently, experiments are ongoing to identify the proteins of the peaks that have the best associations. Biomarker tests will be developed based on these proteins.