Harnessing Omics Technologies for Meat Biomarker Discovery

Authors

  • Rajendran Thomas Food Quality Control Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam – 781131, India
  • Dolly Sharma Food Quality Control Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam – 781131, India
  • Devarshi Bharadwaj Food Quality Control Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam – 781131, India
  • Jai Narain Vishwakarma Assam Don Bosco University, Tapesia Gardens, Kamarkuchi, Sonapur, Assam – 782402, India
  • Vivek Kumar Gupta Food Quality Control Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam – 781131, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/jms.2025.20.01.8

Keywords:

Meat Quality, Biomarkers, Post-mortem meat changes, Omics approaches, Food safety

Abstract

Meat quality, safety, and postmortem aging processes have all been  transformed by the use of omics technology in meat science. The function of  metabolomics, proteomics, metagenomics, lipidomics, transcriptomics, and  multiomics techniques in locating biomarkers linked to characteristics of  meat quality, such as flavor, texture, shelf life, and tenderness, is examined in  this study. While proteomics identifies important protein alterations during  postmortem aging, metabolomics sheds light on small-molecule metabolites  that impact meat quality. Characterizing the microbial communities that affect  meat safety and deterioration is made easier with the help of metagenomics.  While transcriptomics reveals changes in gene expression after slaughter,  lipidomics clarifies lipid oxidation and flavor development. A comprehensive  understanding of the molecular connections influencing meat quality is  provided by multiomics integration. This review also discusses the omics of  postmortem meat aging, focusing on metabolic pathways that affect softness  and water-holding ability, including glycolysis, proteolysis, and apoptosis.  Mass spectrometry and high-throughput sequencing developments have  made it possible to precisely identify biomarkers, which has aided in the  creation of predictive models for evaluating the quality of meat. There is also  discussion of difficulties including economic constraints, standardization, and  data integration. In the end, precision agriculture and customized processing  methods using omics-driven technologies have enormous potential to  maximize meat production, improve food safety, and raise consumer happiness

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Published

2025-12-23

How to Cite

Thomas, R., Sharma, D., Bharadwaj, D., Vishwakarma, J. N., & Gupta, V. K. (2025). Harnessing Omics Technologies for Meat Biomarker Discovery. Journal of Meat Science, 20(1), 70-80. https://doi.org/10.48165/jms.2025.20.01.8