Dietary ractopamine influences sarcoplasmic proteome profile of pork Longissimus thoracis

• The effects of dietary ractopamine on pork sarcoplasmic proteome were examined.
• Ractopamine influenced sarcoplasmic proteome profile of Longissimus thoracis.
• The abundance of glycolytic enzymes was influenced by dietary ractopamine.

Dietary ractopamine improves pork leanness, whereas its effect on sarcoplasmic proteome has not been characterized. Therefore, the influence of ractopamine on sarcoplasmic proteome of post-mortem pork Longissimus thoracis muscle was examined. Longissimus thoracis samples were collected from carcasses (24 h post-mortem) of purebred Berkshire barrows (n = 9) managed in mixed-sex pens and fed finishing diets containing ractopamine (RAC; 7.4 mg/kg for 14 days followed by 10.0 mg/kg for 14 days) or without ractopamine for 28 days (CON). Sarcoplasmic proteome was analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Nine protein spots were differentially abundant between RAC and CON groups. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphoglucomutase-1 were over-abundant in CON, whereas serum albumin, carbonic anhydrase 3, l-lactate dehydrogenase A chain, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A, and myosin light chain 1/3 were over-abundant in RAC. These results suggest that ractopamine influences the abundance of enzymes involved in glycolytic metabolism, and the differential abundance of glycolytic enzymes could potentially influence the conversion of muscle to meat.