Omics sciences applied to the production of milk and goat cheese in the Caatinga biome

• Grant number: 22/08790-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Bryan Heinemann
• Grantee: Marcos Bryan Heinemann
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Artur Cezar de Carvalho Fernandes ; Eduardo Milton Ramos Sanchez ; Fernando Nogueira de Souza ; Gustavo Felipe Correia Sales ; Hiro Goto ; João Batista Ribeiro ; Luiza de Campos Reis ; Maria Marco ; Nivea Regina de Oliveira Felisberto ; Ricardo Barbosa de Lucena ; Sarne de Vliegher ; Victor Satler Pylro

Abstract

Goat milk production is strategic for the social and economic development of Paraíba, mainly in semiarid regions, where the production and commercialization of goat milk and dairy products ensure the livelihood of familiar farm units. Despite being the largest goat milk producer in Brazil, the technological potential is virtually inexistent in Paraiba as opposed to the global market, in which goat dairy products, such as typical goat cheese, have high added value and contribute significantly to the region's wealth generation. The goat milk microbiota is crucial for the sensory and functional properties of the resulting dairy products. Despite some advances in technology, such as identification of probiotic microorganisms in goat milk and their nutraceutical effect for the consumer, the lack of knowledge about the microbial ecology of goat milk is a barrier to the development of goat dairy products. This proposal aims to generate detailed information about the microbiome of goat milk and cheeses produced in the Caatinga Biome, and to ultimately identify specific microorganisms and their functional properties, to provide a foundation for the development of dairy products with higher quality, safety and added value. Therefore, it is proposed an observational study in nine different herds during which milk will be sampled in different periods during lactation. Besides routine analyses, including physicochemical composition, cytology and bacteriology, the samples will be analyzed using omics methodologies, such as high throughput sequencing for metataxonomic (rRNA 16S high-throughput sequencing), transcriptomics of the mammary tissue, and metabolomics by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Similar (metataxonomic and metabolomics) approaches will be used to study the cheese produced with goat milk. Therefore, the project has potential to generate unprecedented information with impact for the scientific development in the area, microbiology biomarkers and metabolic processes associated with the development of new products and technological processes, including certification of origin and innovation, by means of developing bio-products for the prevention and control of mastitis in the caprine species, or even for earlier and more sensitive diagnostics of the disease. The detailed study of goat cheese will allow improving the production process directed to aggregate value through desirable sensorial traits, food safety and possible identification of bioactive compounds with positive impact in the human health. (AU)