Abstract
BackgroundThe objective of this study was to acquire a broader, more comprehensive picture of the transcriptional changes in the L. Thoracis muscle (LT) and subcutaneous fat (SF) of lambs supplemented with vitamin E. Furthermore, we aimed to identify novel genes involved in the metabolism of vitamin E that might also be involved in meat quality. In the first treatment, seven lambs were fed a basal concentrate from weaning to slaughter (CON). In the second treatment, seven lambs received basal concentrate from weaning to 4.71 ± 2.62 days and thereafter concentrate supplemented with 500 mg dl-α-tocopheryl acetate/kg (VE) during the last 33.28 ± 1.07 days before slaughter.ResultsThe addition of vitamin E to the diet increased the α-tocopherol muscle content and drastically diminished the lipid oxidation of meat. Gene expression profiles for treatments VE and CON were clearly separated from each other in the LT and SF. Vitamin E supplementation had a dramatic effect on subcutaneous fat gene expression, showing general up-regulation of significant genes, compared to CON treatment. In LT, vitamin E supplementation caused down-regulation of genes related to intracellular signaling cascade. Functional analysis of SF showed that vitamin E supplementation caused up-regulation of the lipid biosynthesis process, cholesterol, and sterol and steroid biosynthesis, and it down-regulated genes related to the stress response.ConclusionsDifferent gene expression patterns were found between the SF and LT, suggesting tissue specific responses to vitamin E supplementation. Our study enabled us to identify novel genes and metabolic pathways related to vitamin E metabolism that might be implicated in meat quality. Further exploration of these genes and vitamin E could lead to a better understanding of how vitamin E affects the oxidative process that occurs in manufactured meat products.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to acquire a broader, more comprehensive picture of the transcriptional changes in the L
We aimed to identify novel genes that could play important roles in the metabolism of vitamin E and that might be associated with meat quality traits
Our results showed that the content of α-tocopherol in the Weaning Weight
Summary
The objective of this study was to acquire a broader, more comprehensive picture of the transcriptional changes in the L. Thoracis muscle (LT) and subcutaneous fat (SF) of lambs supplemented with vitamin E. Seven lambs were fed a basal concentrate from weaning to slaughter (CON). Seven lambs received basal concentrate from weaning to 4.71 ± 2. 62 days and thereafter concentrate supplemented with 500 mg dl-α-tocopheryl acetate/kg (VE) during the last 33. Vitamin E is a lipid-soluble essential component of human and animal diets due to its powerful antioxidant activity. Vitamin E is extensively used in animal diets as an antioxidant supplement. An increase in α-tocopherol intake can be achieved through grazing systems [9] or by feeding animals with concentrate supplemented with α-tocopherol, which can be used as an effective method to reduce the oxidative processes reported in meat products [10, 11]
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