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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #425225

Research Project: Host-pathogen Interactions and Control Strategies for Bacterial Respiratory Pathogens in Cattle

Location: Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research

Title: Influence of the casein genotype in goat milk bioactivity: an in silico analysis of casein peptidome

Author
item RUBIO-REYES, ARAM - Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro De Desarrollo De Productos Bioticos (CEPROBI)
item DELGADO-ENCISO, IVAN - University Of Colima
item Casas, Eduardo
item GARZA-BRENNER, ESTELA - Universidad Autonoma De Nuevo Leon
item SIFUENTES-RINCON, ANA - Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro De Desarrollo De Productos Bioticos (CEPROBI)

Submitted to: Molecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/11/2025
Publication Date: 6/15/2025
Citation: Rubio-Reyes, A.Y., Delgado-Enciso, I., Casas, E., Garza-Brenner, E., Sifuentes-Rincon, A.M. 2025. Influence of the casein genotype in goat milk bioactivity: an in silico analysis of casein peptidome. Molecules. 30(12). Article 2601. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30122601.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30122601

Interpretive Summary: Caseins are milk proteins that are emulsifiers who help in mixing oils, fat and water in milk. There are several variants of these proteins in goat milk. Experiments in the laboratory identified that variants alpha-s1-casein variant E, alpha-s2-casein variant F, and the beta-casein variants A and C had the greatest activity potential. The most activity identified was the inhibition of the release of two different molecules (angiotensin-converting enzyme and dipeptidyl peptidase IV). This suggests a possible antihypertensive and antidiabetic effects. Once confirmed by animal experiment studies, the management of goat casein variants could direct efforts to enhance the functional quality of goat milk.

Technical Abstract: Goat caseins are highly polymorphic proteins that affect milk functional prop-13 erties. In this study, an in-silico approach was employed to analyze the influence of goat 14 casein allelic variants on the quantity and bioactivity potential of peptides released after 15 enzymatic hydrolysis. The reported protein sequences from the most frequent allelic var-16 iants in Capra hircus caseins (a-S1, ß, a-S2, and '-casein) were analyzed in the BIOPEP-17 UWM database to determine the frequency of occurrence of bioactive fragments from each 18 casein. After specific hydrolysis with trypsin and chymotrypsin A. Important differences 19 in the peptide profile and bioactivity potential were observed within and between the 20 casein allelic variants. The a-S1-casein allele E, a-S2-casein allele F and and the ß-casein 21 A and C alleles exhibited the highest bioactivity potential, and some allele-specific pep-22 tides were also released, highlighting the impact of genotype on the predicted bioactivity. 23 The inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE-I) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV 24 (DPP-IV) activities were the most frequent bioactivities of the released peptides, suggest-25 ing possible antihypertensive and antidiabetic effects. Once confirmed by experimental 26 studies, the use of goat casein genotyping could direct efforts to enhance the functional 27 quality of goat milk.