Identification of intact peptides by top-down peptidomics reveals cleavage spots in thermolabile wine proteins

Prevention of haze formation in wines is challenging for winemakers. Thermolabile proteins in wines, notably thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) and chitinases (CHIs), undergo structural changes under varying physicochemical conditions, resulting in protein aggregation and visible haze in bottled products. Peptidases are an alternative fining method, although an effective proteolysis under typical winemaking conditions (acidic pH and low temperature) is difficult to achieve. In this study, tryptic peptides from TLPs and CHIs were identified by MS-based peptidomics (top-down proteomics) after exposure of scissile bonds on the protein surface. As proposed by the theory of limited proteolysis, protein conformational changes following temperature and pH variations allowed the detection of enzyme-accessible regions. Protein structure visualization and molecular dynamics simulations were used to highlight cleavage spots and provide the scientific basis for haze formation mechanisms. The described method offers a tool to the search for ideal enzymes to prevent wine haze.