Project description:This work investigated the functional changes in whey proteins obtained from goat milk subject to various temperature treatments. Ultra-high temperature instantaneous sterilization (UHTIS) caused less damage than the common low-temperature, whereas spray-drying treatment had the opposite effect. A total of 426 proteins were identified in UHTIS and control treatment groups, including 386 common proteins and 16 and 14 unique proteins. The UHTIS treatment upregulated 55 whey proteins while down-regulated 98. The UHTIS-treated whey proteins may upregulate three metabolic pathways but downregulate one. Overall, UHTIS only slightly impacted the composition and functions of whey proteins from goat milk compared to the common low-temperature treatments.
Project description:Here we describe embGAN, a deep learning pipeline that addresses the challenge of automated cell detection and tracking in label-free 3D time lapse imaging. embGAN requires no manual data annotation for training, learns robust detections that exhibits a high degree of scale invariance and generalizes well to images acquired in multiple labs on multiple instruments.
Project description:Diapause, an adaptative strategy for survival under harsh conditions, is a dynamic multi-stage process. Bombus terrestris, an important agricultural pollinator, is declining in the wild, but artificial breeding is possible by imitating natural conditions. Mated queen bees enter reproductive diapause in winter and recover in spring, but the regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we conducted a comparative 4D label-free proteomic analysis of queen bees during artificial breeding at seven timepoints, including pre-diapause, diapause, and post-diapause stages. Through bioinformatics analysis of proteomic and detection of substance content changes, our results found that, during pre-diapause stages, queen bees had active mitochondria with high levels of oxidative phosphorylation, high body weight, and glycogen and TAG content, all of which support energy consumption during subsequent diapause. During diapause stages, body weight and water content were decreased but glycerol increased, contributing to cold resistance. Dopamine content, immune defense, and protein phosphorylation were elevated, while fat metabolism, protein export, cell communication, signal transduction, and hydrolase activity decreased. Following diapause termination, JH titer, water, fatty acid, and pyruvate levels increased, catabolism, synaptic transmission, and insulin signaling were stimulated, ribosome and cell cycle proteins were upregulated, and cell proliferation was accelerated. Meanwhile, TAG and glycogen content decreased, and ovaries gradually developed. These findings illuminate changes occurring in queen bees at different diapause stages during commercial production.
Project description:Previous studies have found donkey milk (DM) has the similar compositions with human milk (HM) and could be used as a potential hypoallergenic replacement diet for babies suffering from cow's milk allergy. Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) proteins are involved in many biological functions, behaving as important indicators of the nutritional quality of milk. In this study, we used label-free proteomics to quantify the differentially expressed MFGM proteins (DEP) between DM (in 4-5 months of lactation) and HM (in 6-8 months of lactation). In total, 293 DEP were found in these two groups. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that the majority of DEP participated in regulation of immune system process, membrane invagination and lymphocyte activation. Several significant Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were determined for the DEP, such as lysosome, galactose metabolism and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway. Our study may provide valuable information in the composition of MFGM proteins in DM and HM, and expand our knowledge of different biological functions between DM and HM.
Project description:Acetobacter pasteurianus is always used to brew vinegar because of its ability of producing and tolerating a high concentration of acetic acid. During vinegar fermentation, initial acetic acid contributes to acetic acid accumulation, which varies with initial concentrations. In this study, to investigate the mechanisms of tolerating and producing acetic acid of Acetobacter pasteurianus under different concentrations of substrate acetic acid, four-dimensional label-free proteomic technology has been used to analyze the protein profiles of Acetobacter pasteurianus at different growth stages (the lag and exponential phases) and different substrate acetic acid concentrations (0%, 3%, and 6%). A total of 2093 proteins were quantified in this study. The differentially expressed proteins were majorly involved in gene ontology terms of metabolic processes, cellular metabolic processes, and substance binding. Under acetic acid stress, strains might attenuate the toxicity of acetic acid by intensifying fatty acid metabolism, weakening the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycerophospholipid and energy metabolism during the lag phase, while strains might promote the assimilation of acetic acid and inter-conversion of substances during the exponential phase by enhancing the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, pyruvate, and energy metabolism to produce and tolerate acid. Besides, cell cycle regulation and protein translation might be potential acid tolerance pathways under high acid stress. The result contributes to the exploration of new potential acid tolerance mechanisms in Acetobacter pasteurianus from four-dimensional label-free relative quantitative proteomics analysis.
Project description:Milk proteins are prone to changes during the heat treatment process. Here, we aimed to study the changes in caprine milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) proteins with three heat treatment processes-ultra-pasteurization (85 °C, 30 min), ultra-high-temperature instant sterilization (135 °C, 5 s), and spray-drying (inlet, 160 °C and outlet, 80 °C)-using the label-free proteomics technique. A total of 1015, 637, 508, and 738 proteins were identified in the raw milk, ultra-pasteurized milk, ultra-high-temperature instant sterilized milk, and spray-dried reconstituted milk by using label-free proteomics techniques, respectively. Heat treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the relative intensity of MFGM proteins, such as xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase, butyrophilin subfamily 1 member A, stomatin, and SEA domain-containing protein, which mainly come from the membrane, while the proteins in skimmed milk, such as β-lactoglobulin, casein, and osteopontin, increased in MFGM after heat treatment. Among these different heat treatment groups, the procedure of spray-drying resulted in the least abundance reduction of caprine milk MFGM proteins. Additionally, it showed heating is the key process affecting the stability of caprine MFGM protein rather than the spray-drying process. These findings provide new insights into the effects of heat treatment on caprine MFGM protein composition and potential biological functions.
Project description:Staphylococcus aureus is the most common contagious pathogen associated with bovine subclinical mastitis. Current diagnosis of S. aureus mastitis is based on bacteriological culture of milk samples and somatic cell counts, which lack either sensitivity or specificity. Identification of milk proteins that contribute to host defense and their variable responses to pathogenic stimuli would enable the characterization of putative biomarkers of subclinical mastitis. To accomplish this, milk whey samples from healthy and mastitic dairy cows were analyzed using a label-free quantitative proteomics approach. In total, 90 proteins were identified, of which 25 showed significant differential abundance between healthy and mastitic samples. In silico functional analyses indicated the involvement of the differentially abundant proteins in biological mechanisms and signaling pathways related to host defense including pathogen-recognition, direct antimicrobial function, and the acute-phase response. This proteomics and bioinformatics analysis not only facilitates the identification of putative biomarkers of S. aureus subclinical mastitis but also recapitulates previous findings demonstrating the abundance of host defense proteins in intramammary infection. All mass spectrometry data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD007516.
Project description:BackgroundPorcine milk is a complex fluid, containing a myriad of immunological, biochemical, and cellular components, made to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the neonate. Whole milk contains many different cell types, including mammary epithelial cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes, as well nanoparticles, such as milk exosomes. To-date, only a limited number of livestock transcriptomic studies have reported sequencing of milk. Moreover, those studies focused only on sequencing somatic cells as a proxy for the mammary gland with the goal of investigating differences in the lactation process. Recent studies have indicated that RNA originating from multiple cell types present in milk can withstand harsh environments, such as the digestive system, and transmit regulatory molecules from maternal to neonate. Transcriptomic profiling of porcine whole milk, which is reflective of the combined cell populations, could help elucidate these mechanisms. To this end, total RNA from colostrum and mature milk samples were sequenced from 65 sows at differing parities. A stringent bioinformatic pipeline was used to identify and characterize 70,841 transcripts.ResultsThe 70,841 identified transcripts included 42,733 previously annotated transcripts and 28,108 novel transcripts. Differential gene expression analysis was conducted using a generalized linear model coupled with the Lancaster method for P-value aggregation across transcripts. In total, 1667 differentially expressed genes (DEG) were identified for the milk type main effect, and 33 DEG were identified for the milk type x parity interaction. Several gene ontology (GO) terms related to immune response were significant for the milk type main effect, supporting the well-known fact that immunoglobulins and immune cells are transferred to the neonate via colostrum.ConclusionsThis is the first study to perform global transcriptome analysis from whole milk samples in sows from different parities. Our results provide important information and insight into synthesis of milk proteins and innate immunity and potential targets for future improvement of swine lactation and piglet development.