TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic reveals the mechanism of proteolysis and taste improvement of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus co-inoculation

To understand the mechanism of co-inoculation of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus vitulinus (SX & SV) on structural protein degradation and taste enhancement of dry-cured bacon, protease activities, protein degradation, surface morphology of proteins and taste parameters of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus inoculation were investigated. The dry-cured bacon with co-inoculation of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus vitulinus showed the best taste attributes. High residual activities in cathepsin B + L (more than 1.6-fold) and alanyl aminopeptidase (more than 1.4-fold) accelerated structural protein degradation in SX & SV. 32 down regulated proteins were identified in SX & SV by TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic compared with control group; myosin and actin showed the most intense response to the accumulation of sweet and umami amino acids, and atomic force microscopy confirmed structural proteins breakdown by morphological changes. The accumulation of glutamic acid, alanine and lysine was mainly responsible for taste improvement of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus co -inoculation.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of Staphylococcus inoculation on protein degradation and taste of dry-cured bacon. It was found that co-inoculation of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus vitulinus improved the taste attributes of the bacon. High residual activities of proteases accelerated protein degradation, and quantitative proteomic analysis revealed down-regulated proteins in the co-inoculated group. Morphological changes of structural proteins were confirmed by atomic force microscopy. The accumulation of glutamic acid, alanine, and lysine was identified as the main contributor to the taste improvement.