Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle

Beef flavor is affected by muscle metabolites and their related regulatory genes, and the molecular regulatory mechanisms vary among different beef breeds. To provide some new ways to improve meat quality and cattle breed improvement, 24-month-old Gayal (n = 8) and yellow cattle (n = 8) were selecte...

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Main Authors: Lin Han, Runqi Fu, Binlong Fu, Qian Li, Ye Yu, Huan Gao, Jiawei Zhang, Min Qi, Chunjia Jin, Shengyong Mao, Jing Leng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Veterinary Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581767/full
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author Lin Han
Lin Han
Runqi Fu
Runqi Fu
Binlong Fu
Binlong Fu
Qian Li
Qian Li
Ye Yu
Ye Yu
Huan Gao
Huan Gao
Jiawei Zhang
Min Qi
Min Qi
Chunjia Jin
Chunjia Jin
Shengyong Mao
Jing Leng
Jing Leng
author_facet Lin Han
Lin Han
Runqi Fu
Runqi Fu
Binlong Fu
Binlong Fu
Qian Li
Qian Li
Ye Yu
Ye Yu
Huan Gao
Huan Gao
Jiawei Zhang
Min Qi
Min Qi
Chunjia Jin
Chunjia Jin
Shengyong Mao
Jing Leng
Jing Leng
author_sort Lin Han
collection DOAJ
description Beef flavor is affected by muscle metabolites and their related regulatory genes, and the molecular regulatory mechanisms vary among different beef breeds. To provide some new ways to improve meat quality and cattle breed improvement, 24-month-old Gayal (n = 8) and yellow cattle (n = 8) were selected for comparison in this study. The result revealed that the longissimus dorsi muscle fiber diameter, protein content and a-value of Gayal were significantly higher than that of yellow cattle, but the fat content was lower than that of yellow cattle. Furthermore, Gayal meat contained notably higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and n-3PUFA than that of yellow cattle, and also had better levels of flavor amino acids (FAAs) and sweet amino acids (SAAs), which contribute to the flavor of beef. Through comprehensive analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics, we detected a total of 109 markedly different metabolites (DEMs) and 1,677 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the pectoral muscles of the two breeds. Further analysis indicated that amino acid and lipid metabolism might be the key factors contributing to the differences in meat quality and flavor between Gayal and yellow cattle, involving metabolites such as L-2-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, L-serine, betaine, pantothenic acid, and taurine. Through correlation analysis, we identified genes highly associated with flavor amino acids (GSTM3, GSTT2), muscle development (FGF10, EIF4EBP1, PPP2R2C), and lipid metabolism (CYP4A22, ACOX3, PLIN1, ADH6, CNDP1, LPAR3, BRCA1, ADIPOQ, FABP3) related essential regulatory genes and constructed a gene-metabolite interaction network for meat quality and flavor formation in Gayal. In summary, it was shown that significant differences in muscle metabolites between Gayal and yellow cattle, especially in amino acid and lipid metabolism, may be the major reason for the differences in quality and flavor between the two types of beef. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the molecular regulatory mechanisms of the differences in beef quality and flavor between Gayal and yellow cattle, and provides a reference for the development and genetic breeding of high-quality cattle breeds.
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series Frontiers in Veterinary Science
spelling doaj-art-60a96c93622c4e31ae5b1f57e044b2932025-08-20T01:49:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692025-05-011210.3389/fvets.2025.15817671581767Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattleLin Han0Lin Han1Runqi Fu2Runqi Fu3Binlong Fu4Binlong Fu5Qian Li6Qian Li7Ye Yu8Ye Yu9Huan Gao10Huan Gao11Jiawei Zhang12Min Qi13Min Qi14Chunjia Jin15Chunjia Jin16Shengyong Mao17Jing Leng18Jing Leng19Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaCentre for Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaCentre for Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, ChinaFaculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, ChinaBeef flavor is affected by muscle metabolites and their related regulatory genes, and the molecular regulatory mechanisms vary among different beef breeds. To provide some new ways to improve meat quality and cattle breed improvement, 24-month-old Gayal (n = 8) and yellow cattle (n = 8) were selected for comparison in this study. The result revealed that the longissimus dorsi muscle fiber diameter, protein content and a-value of Gayal were significantly higher than that of yellow cattle, but the fat content was lower than that of yellow cattle. Furthermore, Gayal meat contained notably higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and n-3PUFA than that of yellow cattle, and also had better levels of flavor amino acids (FAAs) and sweet amino acids (SAAs), which contribute to the flavor of beef. Through comprehensive analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics, we detected a total of 109 markedly different metabolites (DEMs) and 1,677 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the pectoral muscles of the two breeds. Further analysis indicated that amino acid and lipid metabolism might be the key factors contributing to the differences in meat quality and flavor between Gayal and yellow cattle, involving metabolites such as L-2-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, L-serine, betaine, pantothenic acid, and taurine. Through correlation analysis, we identified genes highly associated with flavor amino acids (GSTM3, GSTT2), muscle development (FGF10, EIF4EBP1, PPP2R2C), and lipid metabolism (CYP4A22, ACOX3, PLIN1, ADH6, CNDP1, LPAR3, BRCA1, ADIPOQ, FABP3) related essential regulatory genes and constructed a gene-metabolite interaction network for meat quality and flavor formation in Gayal. In summary, it was shown that significant differences in muscle metabolites between Gayal and yellow cattle, especially in amino acid and lipid metabolism, may be the major reason for the differences in quality and flavor between the two types of beef. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the molecular regulatory mechanisms of the differences in beef quality and flavor between Gayal and yellow cattle, and provides a reference for the development and genetic breeding of high-quality cattle breeds.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581767/fullGayalmeat qualityregulation mechanismtranscriptomemetabolome
spellingShingle Lin Han
Lin Han
Runqi Fu
Runqi Fu
Binlong Fu
Binlong Fu
Qian Li
Qian Li
Ye Yu
Ye Yu
Huan Gao
Huan Gao
Jiawei Zhang
Min Qi
Min Qi
Chunjia Jin
Chunjia Jin
Shengyong Mao
Jing Leng
Jing Leng
Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Gayal
meat quality
regulation mechanism
transcriptome
metabolome
title Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
title_full Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
title_fullStr Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
title_full_unstemmed Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
title_short Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in Gayal and yellow cattle
title_sort integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics to analyze differences in muscle mass and flavor formation in gayal and yellow cattle
topic Gayal
meat quality
regulation mechanism
transcriptome
metabolome
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581767/full
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