Milk Genomics and Proteomics

The protein fraction of milk is unique in its compositional, nutritional and technological characteristics. Casein, whey proteins, and the fat globule membrane proteins, represent the major source of diversity in milk, yet to be well described. Despite this, a comprehensive characterization of the milk proteins is still lacking. The great complexity, the wide dynamic range of relative protein abundances (over 10 orders of magnitude), and the high heterogeneity of the human milk proteome (due to post-translational modifications, such as glycosylation and phosphorylation, or to other events such as alternative splicing of RNA pre-messengers) severely challenge the capabilities of existing analytical methodologies. A major step forward in this field has been achieved by applying the tools of proteomics to this protein resource. In this lecture, the most recent achievements will be presented, leading to a deeper definition of the structure-function relationship in this complex system.