Characterization of Glycosaminoglycans in Gaping and Intact Connective Tissues of Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Fillets by Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

In the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture industry, gaping (the separation of muscle bundles from the connective tissue) is a major quality problem. This study characterized chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) in the connective tissue of intact and gaping salmon fillets from 30 salmon by mass spectrometry. Statistical difference was detected between gaping and intact tissues only when comparing pairwise samples from the same individual (n = 10). The gaping tissue had a lower content of monosulfated CS disaccharides (p = 0.027), and the relative distribution of CS disaccharides was significantly different (p < 0.05). The HS chains were short (average = 14.09, SD = 4.91), and the intact tissue seemed to have a more uniform HS chain structure compared to the gaping tissue. Time-series samples from the same individuals are recommended for future research to improve the understanding of reasons and implications of these differences.

Assessment of gelatinolytic proteinases in chilled grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) fillets: characterization and contribution to texture softening

“…Meanwhile, during the 11 days of chilled storage, the final values of shear force were 19.68% and 24.33% higher after PMSF and E‐64 treatment, respectively, when compared to the control, whereas Phen treatment resulted in an increase of 49.89%. Weakened IMCTs lose their ability to connect muscle fibers, leading to a decrease in texture properties in fillets 4 . MMPs, with specific collagenolytic proteinase activity, could degrade mostly extracellular matrix and non‐extracellular matrix proteins.…”

“…Softening is defined as the phenomenon in which the weakened intramuscular connective tissues (IMCTs) lose their ability to connect muscle fibers, leading to fillet gaping 4 . It is generally recognized that softening is a consequence of the hydrolysis of structural elements, including collagen and myofibrillar proteins 5,6 .…”

Domain Mapping of Chondroitin/Dermatan Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans Enables Structural Characterization of Proteoglycans

“…Endonucleases, such as benzonase, are commonly included in GAG sample preparations from fluids and tissues to remove nucleic acids ( 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ). To investigate whether nucleic acid digestion had any impact on the GAG sample preparation from INS-1832/13 cells, the total ion chromatograms (TICs) of chondroitinase ABC-depolymerized CS/DS products before and after benzonase treatment were compared ( Fig.…”

Relevance of collagen solubility and gelatinolytic proteinase activity for texture softening in chilled grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) fillets

“…The fish muscle myotomes are composed of contractile muscle fibres, which link together in layers lying parallel along the axis by the myocommata and connective tissue (Jacobsen et al ., 2019). Post‐mortem degradation of myofibrillar protein and connective tissue is regarded a major cause for texture softening in fish flesh.…”