Peukert Manuela, Zimmermann Sebastian, Egert Björn, Weinert Christoph H, Schwarzmann Thomas, Brüggemann Dagmar A
Department of Safety and Quality of Meat, Max Rubner-Institut, 95326 Kulmbach, Germany.
Department of Quality and Safety of Fruit and Vegetables, Max Rubner-Institut, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Metabolites. 2021 Apr 22;11(5):261. doi: 10.3390/metabo11050261.
The study aimed to investigate possible systematic effects in the basic underlying variability of individual metabolomic data. In this context, the extent of gender- and genotype-dependent differences reflected in the metabolic composition of three tissues in fattening pigs was determined. The 40 pigs belonged to the genotypes PIx(LWxGL) and PIxGL with gilts and boars, respectively. Blood and tissue samples from and liver were directly taken at the slaughtering plant and directed to GC × GC qMS metabolite analysis. Differences were observed for various metabolite classes like amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, or organic acids. Gender-specific differences were much more pronounced than genotype-related differences, which could be due to the close genetic relation of the fattening pigs. However, the metabolic dimorphism between gilts and boars was found to be genotype-dependent, and vice versa metabolic differences between genotypes were found to be gender-dependent. Most interestingly, integration into metabolic pathways revealed different patterns for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) usage in boars and gilts. We suppose a stronger N-recycling and increased energy metabolism in boars, whereas, in gilts, more N is presumably excreted and remaining carbon skeletons channeled into lipogenesis. Associations of metabolites to meat quality factors confirmed the applicability of metabolomics approaches for a better understanding about the impact of drivers (e.g., gender, age, breed) on physiological processes influencing meat quality. Due to the huge complexity of the drivers-traits-network, the derivation of independent biomarkers for meat quality prediction will hardly be possible.
该研究旨在调查个体代谢组学数据基本潜在变异性中可能存在的系统效应。在此背景下，确定了育肥猪三种组织代谢组成中反映的性别和基因型依赖性差异程度。这40头猪分别属于基因型PIx(LWxGL)和PIxGL，其中母猪和公猪各占一半。在屠宰场直接采集血液和肝脏组织样本，并进行全二维气相色谱-质谱联用（GC×GC qMS）代谢物分析。观察到各种代谢物类别存在差异，如氨基酸、脂肪酸、糖类或有机酸。性别特异性差异比基因型相关差异更为明显，这可能是由于育肥猪的亲缘关系较近。然而，发现母猪和公猪之间的代谢二态性具有基因型依赖性，反之，基因型之间的代谢差异也具有性别依赖性。最有趣的是，整合到代谢途径中发现，公猪和母猪在碳（C）和氮（N）利用方面存在不同模式。我们推测公猪的氮循环更强且能量代谢增加，而母猪可能更多地排泄氮，剩余的碳骨架则进入脂肪生成过程。代谢物与肉质因素的关联证实了代谢组学方法在更好地理解驱动因素（如性别、年龄、品种）对影响肉质的生理过程的影响方面的适用性。由于驱动因素-性状网络的巨大复杂性，几乎不可能推导用于肉质预测的独立生物标志物。
