Combined Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals the Potential Role of in Yak Intramuscular Fat Deposition.

The Yak () is a special breed of livestock predominantly distributed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. Intramuscular fat (IMF) content in beef cattle is a vital indicator of meat quality. In this study, RNA-Seq and Protein-Seq were respectively employed to sequence the transcriptome and proteome of the (LD) tissue from 4-year-old yaks with significant differences in IMF content under the same fattening conditions. Five overlapping genes (, , , , and ) were screened using combined analysis. Functional verification tests demonstrated that the key gene inhibited yak intramuscular preadipocyte (YIMA) differentiation and proliferation, promoted mitochondrial biogenesis gene expression, and increased the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Furthermore, co-transfection experiments further demonstrated that interfering with reversed the effect of PPARα agonists in promoting lipid differentiation. In conclusion, potentially inhibits lipid deposition in YIAMs by regulating the PPARα signalling pathway. These findings offer insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying yak meat quality.