As a small species of milk source, donkey milk has attracted widespread attention due to its high nutritional value. However, its composition is substantially different from the most widely consumed milk source—bovine milk. This study was aimed to conduct a qualitative proteomic analysis of donkey whey proteins (DWPs) and bovine whey proteins (BWPs). Specifically, 981, 988, 1127, and 1534 whey proteins were characterized in donkey colostrum (DC), donkey mature milk (DM), bovine colostrum (BC), and bovine mature milk (BM), respectively. Among these, 477 common whey proteins were identified in the four groups, whereas 43, 27, 105, and 476 unique whey proteins were identified in DC, DM, BC, and BM, respectively. The potential functions of these proteins, as well as the pathways involved, were further analyzed using bioinformatics. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the compositions of DWPs and BWPs and provide a theoretical basis for the development of whey protein nutrition.

驴奶作为一种小奶源，因其营养价值高而受到广泛关注。然而，它的成分与最广泛消费的奶源——牛奶有很大不同。本研究旨在对驴乳清蛋白 (DWP) 和牛乳清蛋白 (BWP) 进行定性蛋白质组学分析。具体而言，981、988、1127 和 1534 乳清蛋白分别在驴初乳 (DC)、驴成熟乳 (DM)、牛初乳 (BC) 和牛成熟乳 (BM) 中进行了表征。其中，在四组中鉴定出 477 种常见乳清蛋白，而在 DC、DM、BC 和 BM 中分别鉴定出 43、27、105 和 476 种独特乳清蛋白。使用生物信息学进一步分析了这些蛋白质的潜在功能以及所涉及的途径。