Proteome basis of pale, soft, and exudative condition in broiler meat

This seed grant proposal addresses USDA NIFA Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health Improving Food Quality (Priority Code A1361). Pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) meat is a quality defect in poultry affecting 5-30% for broilers harvested. PSE meat has an unacceptable appearance at retail display and is extremely dry after cooking. We propose to test the hypothesis that the muscle proteomes (myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic) in PSE and normal broiler breast meat are different and influence meat quality traits. Our preliminary work provided evidence that myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteome components are differentially abundant in pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) and normal broiler breast meat. The objectives of this proposal are - (1) to characterize the myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteomes in PSE broiler breast meat; (2) To determine the correlation between differential proteome abundance and quality traits of PSE and normal broiler breast meat. This approach will allow us to interpret how differential abundance of muscle proteome contributes to PSE condition and will generate preliminary data for a standard research proposal to USDA AFRI, tentatively entitled - "Protein biomarkers for poultry meat quality". Characterizing the relationship between PSE condition and muscle proteome components will allow us to the explain biochemical pathways during the muscle-to-meat conversion leading to PSE and to identify strategies to minimize the incidence of PSE in broilers. Successfully characterizing the proteome basis of PSE will aid engineering strategies to prevent the incidence of PSE in poultry and improve poultry meat quality, ultimately enhancing the competitiveness of the US poultry industry.