Short communication: Predictive ability of Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy to assess CSN genotypes and detailed protein composition of buffalo milk

The aim of this work was to test the applicability of Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR) for the prediction of the contents of casein (CN) and whey protein fractions in buffalo milk. Buffalo milk samples spectra were collected using a MilkoScan FT2 (Foss, Hiller\uf8d, Denmark) over the spectral range from 5,000 to 900 wavenumber 7 cm(-1). Contents of protein fractions, as well as CSN1S1 and CSN3 genotypes, were assessed by reversed phase HPLC. The highest coefficients of determination in cross-validation (1 - VR) were obtained for the contents (g/L of milk) of total protein and CN (1 - VR = 0.92), followed by the content of \u3b2-CN, total whey protein, and \u3b1S2-CN (1 - VR of 0.87, 0.77, and 0.63, respectively). Conversely, contents of \u3b1S1-CN, \u3b3-CN, glycosylated-\u3ba-CN, total \u3ba-CN, and whey protein fractions were predicted with poor accuracy (1 - VR