Abstract
BackgroundIntramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the most important factors positively associated with meat quality. Triglycerides (TGs), as the main component of IMF, play an essential role in muscle lipid metabolism. This transcriptome analysis of pectoralis muscle tissue aimed to identify functional genes and biological pathways likely contributing to the extreme differences in the TG content of broiler chickens.ResultsThe study included Jingxing-Huang broilers that were significantly different in TG content (5.81 mg/g and 2.26 mg/g, p < 0.01) and deposition of cholesterol also showed the same trend. This RNA sequencing analysis was performed on pectoralis muscle samples from the higher TG content group (HTG) and the lower TG content group (LTG) chickens. A total of 1200 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between two groups, of which 59 DEGs were related to TG and steroid metabolism. The HTG chickens overexpressed numerous genes related to adipogenesis and lipogenesis in pectoralis muscle tissue, including the key genes ADIPOQ, CD36, FABP4, FABP5, LPL, SCD, PLIN1, CIDEC and PPARG, as well as genes related to steroid biosynthesis (DHCR24, LSS, MSMO1, NSDHL and CH25H). Additionally, key pathways related to lipid storage and metabolism (the steroid biosynthesis and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway) may be the key pathways regulating differential lipid deposition between HTG group and LTG group.ConclusionsThis study showed that increased TG deposition accompanying an increase in steroid synthesis in pectoralis muscle tissue. Our findings of changes in gene expression of steroid biosynthesis and PPAR signaling pathway in HTG and LTG chickens provide insight into genetic mechanisms involved in different lipid deposition patterns in pectoralis muscle tissue.
Highlights
Intramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the most important factors positively associated with meat quality
RNA sequencing data analysis A total of 1200 known differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 1142 were upregulated and 58 were downregulated, in the higher TG content group (HTG) group compared with the lower TG content group (LTG) group, as shown in Fig. 2a and Additional file 1
Consistent with the phenotypic trait, the expression of key genes (DHCR24, Lanosterol synthase (LSS), Methylsterol monooxygenase 1 (MSMO1), NAD(P) dependent steroid dehydrogenase-like (NSDHL) and Cholesterol 25hydroxylase (CH25H)), which encode proteins that are involved in steroid biosynthesis process [45,46,47,48,49], was upregulated in the HTG group compared with the LTG group
Summary
Intramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the most important factors positively associated with meat quality. Triglycerides (TGs), as the main component of IMF, play an essential role in muscle lipid metabolism. This transcriptome analysis of pectoralis muscle tissue aimed to identify functional genes and biological pathways likely contributing to the extreme differences in the TG content of broiler chickens. Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is commonly used in livestock and poultry industry as an indicator of meat quality influencing tenderness, color, juiciness and. The differential deposition mechanism of IMF in different breeds, tissues and ages has been studied. The effects of breed and age on IMF deposition were explored in Beijing-you chicken and Arbor Acres, and several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (MYBPC1, CETP, GLTPD1 and SNX4) were identified for IMF developmental processes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call