Heterogeneity of Intramuscular, Intermuscular, and Subcutaneous Fat in Laiwu Pigs: Insights from Targeted Lipidomics and Transcriptomics

Jian Xu, Tianwen Wu, Sin Man Lam, Guanghou Shui, Shulin Yang, Yanfang Wang () and Cong Tao ()
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Jian Xu: State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
Tianwen Wu: State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
Sin Man Lam: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Guanghou Shui: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Shulin Yang: State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
Yanfang Wang: State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
Cong Tao: State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: In the livestock industry, an excessive accumulation of subcutaneous fat diminishes the proportion of lean meat, while elevated intramuscular fat (IMF) content is associated with enhanced meat quality. However, the heterogeneity of various fat depots in pigs remains incompletely understood. Comprehensive tissue section, lipidomic, and transcriptomic analyses indicated that the maturity of IMF was significantly less than that of both intermuscular and subcutaneous fats. We identified 467 lipids across 29 lipid classes in total, revealing that IMF exhibits unique lipid composition and transcriptional profiles. More importantly, several lipids, including GalCer, S1P, CL, AcCa, PC-O, PE-O, and sulfatide, are highly enriched in intramuscular fat and may play pivotal roles in neuromodulation, mitochondrial function, lipogenesis, and membrane signaling. In conclusion, we unveiled unique lipid composition and molecular regulatory pathways of porcine IMF, offering new insights for the synergistic breeding that aims at optimizing pig backfat thickness and IMF content.

Keywords: Laiwu pig; IMF; backfat; heterogeneity; lipidomics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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