Proteomic Characterization of Milk Protein Modifications
Summary
Proteomic Characterization of Milk Protein Modifications employs advanced mass spectrometry to identify and quantify post-translational modifications on milk proteins. These modifications, including lactosylation, glycation, oxidation and phosphorylation, arise during processing, storage and digestion and can alter structural, nutritional and immunogenic properties of caseins and whey proteins. Bottom-up approaches digest proteins into peptides for targeted analysis of modification sites, whereas top-down workflows analyse intact proteoforms, revealing combinatorial modification patterns. High-resolution LC-MS/MS platforms, coupled with enrichment strategies for specific PTMs, enable high-confidence mapping of hundreds of modified residues across major milk proteins. This wealth of data informs on processing markers for heat treatment and storage, guides the design of infant formulas and dairy products with controlled allergenicity and nutritional quality, and supports quality control in the dairy industry. Emerging workflows integrate data-independent acquisition and bioinformatic pipelines to accelerate discovery and quantification of low-abundance modifications. By connecting molecular fingerprints to functional outcomes, proteomic characterisation drives a more precise understanding of milk protein biochemistry and its impact on food safety, nutrition and health.
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Proteomic Characterization of Milk Protein Modifications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in proteomic characterization of milk protein modifications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Proteomics: The large-scale study of proteins and their modifications in a biological sample.
Post-translational modification (PTM): A covalent chemical change to a protein after its synthesis, affecting function or stability.
Lactosylation: The non-enzymatic attachment of lactose to amino groups on proteins via a Maillard reaction.
Glycation: A non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugars and protein amino groups, forming early glycation products and advanced glycation end-products.
LC-MS/MS: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, a technique for separating and identifying peptides and their modifications.
References
- The effect of heat treatment on the lactosylation of milk proteins. Journal of Dairy Science (2023).
- Identifying glycation hot-spots in bovine milk proteins during production and storage of skim milk powder. International Dairy Journal (2022).
- Comprehensive Profiling of the Native and Modified Peptidomes of Raw Bovine Milk and Processed Milk Products. Foods (2020).
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