Milk of Greek sheep and goat breeds; characterization by means of proteomics

Over the past 30years there has been a growing interest to unravel the dynamic framework of the milk proteome, and now that available technology is mature enough to enable techniques of protein fractionation and identification, this process is on-going. Due to its rarity and unique biological traits, as well as its growing financial value, milk of dairy Greek animals is continuously attracting interest from both the scientific community and industry. In the present study we employed cutting-edge proteomics methodologies to investigate and characterize, in depth, the proteome of whey from all pure-breed Greek sheep and goats. A mean of >500 protein groups were identified in whey from each breed of each animal species, reporting for the first time the proteome dataset of this precious biological material. Given its high nutritional value, the protein properties exposed herein will govern future steps in optimizing characteristics and features of sheep and goat milk products.

Significance: In the present study we employed cutting-edge proteomics methodologies to investigate and characterize, in depth, the proteome of milk from all pure-breed Greek sheep and goats. A mean of >500 protein groups were identified in milk whey from each breed of each animal species, reporting for the first time the proteome dataset of this precious biological material. Given its high nutritional value, the protein properties exposed herein will govern future steps in optimizing characteristics and features of sheep and goat milk products.