AUTHOR=Cai Chunbo , Li Meng , Zhang Yanwei , Meng Shan , Yang Yang , Gao Pengfei , Guo Xiaohong , Cao Guoqing , Li Bugao 

TITLE=Comparative Transcriptome Analyses of Longissimus thoracis Between Pig Breeds Differing in Muscle Characteristics

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.526309

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2020.526309

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>The two breeds, Mashen (MS; a northern China breed) and Large White (LW; a western lean breed) pigs, show important phenotypic differences in growth, adaptability, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and energy metabolism since early developmental stage. The main aim of this study was the evaluation of <italic>longissimus thoracis</italic> muscle transcriptome profile of both genetic types to identify genes, pathways responsible for their differentiated phenotype. <italic>Longissimus thoracis</italic> of MS and LW pigs were sampled at 0 day (early stage), 90 days (middle stage), and 180 days (later stage) after birth. A total of 3,487 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at the three time points. Sample clustering analysis revealed the slower growth rate of MS than LW pigs. Gene expression pattern analysis revealed that multicellular organism growth genes (<italic>GHSR</italic>, <italic>EZR</italic>, <italic>FOXS1</italic>, <italic>DRD2</italic>, <italic>SH3PXD2B</italic>, <italic>CSF1</italic>, and <italic>TSHR</italic>) were involved in the fast growth rate of LW pigs at early stage. Furthermore, DEGs (<italic>ACACA</italic>, <italic>ACSF3</italic>, <italic>OXSM</italic>, <italic>CBR4</italic>, and <italic>HSD17B8</italic>) functionally related to fatty acid synthesis revealed that IMF accumulation occurred around 90 and up to 180 days. These DEGs provided valuable resource to study the phenotypic difference in <italic>longissimus thoracis</italic> muscle between MS and LW pigs.</p>