de Amorim Rodrigues Gustavo, Saraiva Alysson, Soares Marcos Henrique, Oliveira Mendes Tiago Antônio, Costa Thais Correa, Brito da Silva Caroline, Monteiro Pedro Vieira, Duarte Marcio
Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Muscle Biology and Nutrigenomics Laboratory, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 29;20(4):e0322040. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0322040. eCollection 2025.
This study aimed to assess the effect of betaine supplementation on the proteomic profile of the longissimus thoracis muscle in finishing pigs. Thirty-six crossbred female pigs (initial body weight = 88.96 ± 3.48 kg) were allocated in a completely randomized experimental design with two dietary treatments, with nine replications per treatment and two pigs per replication. The experimental diets consisted of a control diet (CON) and the CON diet supplemented with 2.5 g/kg of betaine (BET). At the end of the trial, one pig per unit was slaughtered, and longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle samples were analyzed via mass spectrometry to identify differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). Additionally, the intramuscular fat (IMF) content in the LT muscle was evaluated. Network analyses were performed to identify the biological processes and KEGG pathways. Results indicated that eleven DAPs were down-regulated (q-Value < 0.05) in the BET group compared to the CON group. Most DAPs were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, indicating that betaine may modulate cellular energy metabolism. These proteins were involved in glycolysis, glycogenolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the glucagon signaling pathway. Moreover, pigs in the BET group had higher (P = 0.02) IMF compared to the CON group. In conclusion, betaine supplementation in finishing pigs down-regulated proteins related to carbohydrate metabolism in skeletal muscle, suppressed glucose metabolic processes and carbohydrate catabolic processes. These findings indicate alterations in glucose flow, possibly favoring other metabolic pathways, such as the pentose phosphate pathway. Furthermore, betaine supplementation increased IMF deposition and improved meat tenderness.
本研究旨在评估添加甜菜碱对育肥猪胸最长肌蛋白质组学特征的影响。将36头杂交母猪（初始体重 = 88.96 ± 3.48千克）采用完全随机试验设计分为两种日粮处理组，每组处理9个重复，每个重复2头猪。试验日粮包括对照日粮（CON）和添加2.5克/千克甜菜碱的对照日粮（BET）。试验结束时，每个单元屠宰1头猪，并通过质谱分析胸最长肌（LT）肌肉样本以鉴定差异丰富蛋白（DAPs）。此外，还评估了LT肌肉中的肌内脂肪（IMF）含量。进行网络分析以确定生物学过程和KEGG通路。结果表明，与CON组相比，BET组中有11种DAPs下调（q值 < 0.05）。大多数DAPs与碳水化合物代谢相关，表明甜菜碱可能调节细胞能量代谢。这些蛋白质参与糖酵解、糖原分解、磷酸戊糖途径和胰高血糖素信号通路。此外，BET组猪的IMF含量高于CON组（P = 0.02）。总之，育肥猪添加甜菜碱可下调骨骼肌中与碳水化合物代谢相关的蛋白质，抑制葡萄糖代谢过程和碳水化合物分解代谢过程。这些发现表明葡萄糖流量发生改变，可能有利于其他代谢途径，如磷酸戊糖途径。此外，添加甜菜碱可增加IMF沉积并改善肉的嫩度。
