Proteomic profiling of ovine milk after grading up

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Proteomics
• Dairy Production

Background:

• Chinese local dairy sheep were developed via crossbreeding Small-Tailed Han (STH) sheep with DairyMeade (DM) sheep.
• Understanding whey protein profiles is crucial for assessing milk quality and physiological variations in crossbred sheep.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the whey protein profile of STH sheep and their F1 and F2 offspring.
• To identify physiological differences and variations in milk traits across generations.

Main Methods:

• Tandem mass tag (TMT) proteome profiling was employed to identify whey proteins.
• Quantitative analysis was performed to determine differential protein abundance between generations.

Main Results:

• A total of 1032 whey proteins were identified.
• Significant differences in protein abundance were observed between STH, F1, and F2 generations, though overall variation was minimal.
• WASHC4, CUTA, and Ig-like domain-containing protein were identified as dominant differential whey proteins.

Conclusions:

• The whey protein profiles of different generations of crossbred sheep showed limited variation.
• Crossbreeding STH and DM sheep is suitable for developing the Chinese local sheep milk industry.
• The F2 generation shows promise as a superior population for sheep milk production.