Multiple analytical chemistry and proteomics studies confirm that peptide mapping relies on proteolytic cleavage (such as with trypsin or pepsin) to break down proteins into specific peptide fragments for identification and characterization.
The claim is specific, testable, and empirical, passing Step 0 easily. Multiple retrieved papers explicitly discuss peptide mapping as a technique involving proteolytic cleavage (enzymatic digestion using proteases like trypsin or pepsin) to generate peptide fragments for mass spectrometry characterization. There are no papers refuting this well-established biochemical procedure. Therefore, the verdict is SUPPORTED.