Han Lin, Fu Runqi, Fu Binlong, Li Qian, Yu Ye, Gao Huan, Zhang Jiawei, Qi Min, Jin Chunjia, Mao Shengyong, Leng Jing
Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 May 14;12:1581767. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1581767. eCollection 2025.
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 ( = 8) and yellow cattle ( = 8) were selected for comparison in this study. The result revealed that the longissimus dorsi muscle fiber diameter, protein content and a-value of were significantly higher than that of yellow cattle, but the fat content was lower than that of yellow cattle. Furthermore, 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 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 (, ), muscle development (, , ), and lipid metabolism (, , , , , 3, , , ) related essential regulatory genes and constructed a gene-metabolite interaction network for meat quality and flavor formation in . In summary, it was shown that significant differences in muscle metabolites between 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 and yellow cattle, and provides a reference for the development and genetic breeding of high-quality cattle breeds.
牛肉风味受肌肉代谢产物及其相关调控基因的影响，且不同肉牛品种间的分子调控机制存在差异。为提供一些改善肉质和肉牛品种改良的新方法，本研究选取了24月龄的安格斯牛（n = 8）和黄牛（n = 8）进行比较。结果显示，安格斯牛背最长肌的肌纤维直径、蛋白质含量和a值均显著高于黄牛，但其脂肪含量低于黄牛。此外，安格斯牛肉中多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）和n - 3PUFA的含量显著高于黄牛，且风味氨基酸（FAA）和甜味氨基酸（SAA）的含量也更高，这些都有助于牛肉的风味。通过转录组学和代谢组学的综合分析，我们在两个品种的胸肌中总共检测到109种显著不同的代谢产物（DEM）和1677个差异表达基因（DEG）。进一步分析表明，氨基酸和脂质代谢可能是导致安格斯牛和黄牛在肉质和风味上存在差异的关键因素，涉及L - 2 - 氨基丁酸、L - 谷氨酸、L - 谷氨酰胺、L - 丝氨酸、甜菜碱、泛酸和牛磺酸等代谢产物。通过相关性分析，我们鉴定出了与风味氨基酸（、）、肌肉发育（、、）以及脂质代谢（、、、、、3、、、）相关的关键调控基因，并构建了安格斯牛肉质和风味形成的基因 - 代谢产物相互作用网络。综上所述，结果表明安格斯牛和黄牛的肌肉代谢产物存在显著差异，尤其是在氨基酸和脂质代谢方面，这可能是两种牛肉在品质和风味上存在差异的主要原因。本研究为进一步探究安格斯牛和黄牛在牛肉品质和风味差异方面的分子调控机制提供了理论依据，并为优质肉牛品种的培育和遗传育种提供了参考。
