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Molecular signatures of pre-slaughter stress on the bovine muscle proteome and relevance to eating quality of beef
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Date
2026-04-28
Authors
Hazra, Sudipta Kumar
Journal Title
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Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Pre-slaughter stress compromises animal welfare and meat quality, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this relationship remain partially understood. This thesis investigated how pre-slaughter stress interacts with management practices and nutritional interventions to influence bovine muscle proteomes and meat quality attributes, while developing accessible analytical tools to address the methodological challenges of such multifactorial experimental designs.
Two complementary proteomic studies characterised stress-responsive molecular signatures under contrasting conditions. The first examined semitendinosus muscle sampled at 48 h post-mortem in 81 young bulls subjected to different horn status, rearing conditions, and pre-slaughter stress levels. The second analysed longissimus thoracis muscle sampled at 15 min post-mortem in 32 cull cows exposed to dietary antioxidant supplementation and pre-slaughter stress, with subsequent sensory evaluation.
The findings reveal that stress-induced proteomic signatures are fundamentally context-dependent, varying across three key dimensions. First, muscle-specific responses demonstrated differential sensitivities to management factors depending on functional roles and oxidative capacity. Second, treatment interactions revealed that dietary antioxidants modulated stress responses only under elevated stress conditions, showing minimal effects when stress was limited. Third, temporal dynamics showed that stress effects were pronounced at 15 min post-mortem but largely dissipated by 48 h, whereas chronic management factors (horn status, rearing conditions) established persistent metabolic states.
Despite this context-dependency, both studies converged on common molecular pathways linking stress to meat quality: energy metabolism, protein homeostasis, and redox regulation. Candidate biomarkers showing associations with sensory traits (MSRA, NDUFA4, P4HB, PSMB1) were identified, providing mechanistically grounded targets for validation.
The analytical complexity revealed by these multiple interacting factors motivated development of limmaGenie, a retrieval-augmented generation-based assistant that democratises access to rigorous statistical methods for proteomics researchers. These findings establish that effective stress mitigation strategies must account for individual management histories, muscle properties, and temporal windows to optimise both animal welfare and sustainable meat quality outcomes in beef production systems.
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Keywords
Pre-slaughter stress , Bovine muscle proteomics , Meat quality biomarkers , Postmortem proteome , Dietary antioxidant supplementation , Redox regulation , Protein homeostasis , Energy metabolism , Animal welfare , limmaGenie , Beef production
Citation
Hazra, S. K. 2026. Molecular signatures of pre-slaughter stress on the bovine muscle proteome and relevance to eating quality of beef. MRes Thesis, University College Cork.