Functional characterisation of pigeon egg proteins based on data-independent acquisition quantitative proteomics

Area of Science:

• Proteomics
• Comparative analysis of avian egg proteins

Background:

• Understanding the proteomic composition of avian eggs is crucial for exploring their nutritional and functional potential.
• Pigeon eggs, less studied than chicken or quail eggs, may possess unique protein characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the proteomic differences between pigeon, chicken, and quail eggs.
• To investigate the functional properties of pigeon egg proteins for potential applications.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative proteomics using data-independent acquisition (DIA) on pooled egg samples from White King pigeons, Hy-Line Brown chickens, and Shendan No.1 quail.
• Bioinformatics analyses including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified and quantified 937 proteins across the three species.
• Found significant differential expression of 423 proteins between pigeon and chicken eggs, and 479 between pigeon and quail eggs.
• Pigeon egg proteins were significantly enriched in functions related to lipid transport, immune regulation, antioxidant activity, albumen gel formation, and wound healing.

Conclusions:

• Pigeon eggs possess distinct proteomic profiles compared to chicken and quail eggs.
• Pigeon egg proteins exhibit unique functional characteristics, suggesting their potential as a novel functional protein source.
• This study provides a molecular basis for the further development and utilization of pigeon eggs.