Insight into Ultrasound-Induced Modifications of the Proteome and Flavor-Related Proteins of Unsmoked Bacon by Applying Label-Free Quantitation Technology

The aim of this study was to investigate the modifications of the proteome and flavor-related proteins in unsmoked bacon resulting from ultrasound treatment with the application of label-free quantitation technology together with bioinformatics analysis. Results showed that the expression levels of 137 proteins were markedly affected by ultrasound with most of them being significantly upregulated. The proteins distributed in the cytoplasm and the cytosol, the mitochondrion, and the nucleus were more susceptible to ultrasound treatment. Meanwhile, 20 flavor-related proteins, mostly myofibrillar proteins and metabolic enzymes mainly involved in the metabolic pathways of signaling and cellular processes and environmental information processing, were screened out. In addition, the differential expressions of flavor-related proteins induced by ultrasound were verified by western blotting. This study displayed insightful information from the proteomics perspective for a better understanding of the influential effect of ultrasound treatment on meat flavor.