High-throughput technology (proteomics and transcriptomics) to identify and functionally characterise new egg proteins

Abstract

The avian egg is a nutritious food and also a major source of biologically active compounds that are beneficial for human health. These biologically active molecules are widely used by pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. Egg proteins were previously studied using classical biochemical techniques. The development of high-throughput techniques, the recent publication of the chicken genome sequence, and the development of new bioinformatics tools are major scientific advances leading to the identification and characterisation of a number of minor egg components, which were not previously identified. We illustrate in this review the most recent developments in egg biochemistry (proteomics) and molecular biology (transcriptomics) using recent data on the characterisation of egg proteins. Further experimental studies have been initiated to explore the functional properties of these novel egg proteins. The newly identified molecules may be a source of useful active compounds beneficial for human and animal health. They may be putative biological markers, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of which could be used in marker-assisted genetic selection (MAS), to improve egg defencs and to reduce the risk of food-borne disease outbreaks in humans.