TMT-based quantitative proteomics reveals protein biomarkers from cultured Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) in different regions

•TMT-based proteomics was used to study and compare the muscle protein profiles of Pacific abalones between northern and southern China.•729 differential abundance proteins were identified in different regions.•Fatty acid synthase and other 3 proteins were identified as candidate biomarkers for identification of northern and southern abalone. Due to latitude, the growth cycle of abalone in southern China is significantly lower than that in the northern regions. Therefore, it often occurs merchants use southern abalone to disguise as northern abalone. This study aims to explore the differences in the muscle proteome of Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) in different regions. A total of 1,569 proteins were detected and 729 proteins were identified as differential abundance proteins (DAPs) in Haliotis discus hannai cultured in Northern (Liaoning Province) and Southern (Fujian Province) China. Bioinformatics analysis revealed and Western blot verified that fatty acid synthase, troponin I, calpain small subunit 1, and myosin light chain 6 are candidate biomarkers for abalone cultured in different regions. This study provides a deeper understanding of how to distinguish which region abalone is harvested from to improve abalone quality controls, and prevent food fraud.