Early postmortem gene expression and its relationship to composition and quality traits in pig Longissimus dorsi muscle

A mRNA expression study has been performed 20-25 minutes postmortem obtained samples from Longissimus dorsi muscle of 59 Duroc x LD/LW pigs to search for gene sequences related to meat quality (pH24, pH45, Lab colour coordinates, curing yield and exudation at three different times) or to meat composition (intramuscular fat, content of several fatty acid (C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 and C18:2), ratio of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and protein and humidity contents) traits in order to find targets for selection. Gene ontology analysis, biological pathways and gene networks studies all show, that many more differentially expressed genes (506 vs 279) are related to meat quality (Group P, or perimortem characters) than to meat composition traits (Group L, or whole life traits). The difference between the number of GO terms annotated, biological pathways and gene networks in groups P and L is notable due to the differences in the complexity of the generation process of P-traits and the involvement of other tissues or organs in the generation of variability of L-traits. Also, interactions between a list of differentially expressed genes were found in ECM-receptor interaction, TGF-beta signaling pathway, fatty acid elongation in mitochondria and adipocytokine signalling pathway indicating that a substantial fraction of the gene networks could be associated with interactions between differential expressed genes related to traits under study. A high number of the most overexpressed genes are related to muscle development and functionality and repair mechanisms; they could be good candidates for breeding programs whose main goal is to enhance meat quality.

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Cánovas A, Varona L, Burgos C, Galve A, Carrodeguas JA, Ibáñez-Escriche N, Martín-Burriel I, López-Buesa P