Transcriptomic analysis to identify differentially expressed genes of abdominal fat (AF) and breast muscle (BM) tissues based on RNA-seq in Zhijin white goose.

Adipose tissue deposition patterns in poultry significantly influence meat quality and production efficiency. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating differential fat accumulation between adipose and muscle tissues remain poorly understood in waterfowl. To evaluate and compare the underlying molecular processes of fat accumulation in Zhijin white geese abdominal fat (AF) and breast muscle (BM). The differential gene expression profiles in the AF and BM tissues were conducted by using RNA-seq. Six male Zhijin white geese, all 180 days old and of equivalent body weight, were selected for collecting AF and BM tissue samples. After RNA-seq, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis was done to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with adipose tissue deposition and lipid metabolism. Randomly selected 7 DEGs for real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) validation in order to confirm the accuracy of the sequencing data. The results showed that there were 5969 DEGs in the AF and BM tissues of Zhijin white geese, of which 2860 were upregulated and 3109 were downregulated. The Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation analysis demonstrated that DEGs were primarily implicated in lipid localization, phosphorus metabolic processes, catalytic activity, and other pathways associated with lipid metabolism. The citrate cycle (TCA cycle), pentose phosphate pathway, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis were identified as KEGG pathways with significant enrichment. Transcriptome profiling and bioinformatic analysis of the AF and BM tissues revealed that the genes ALDOA, PDHA1, PGM1, ALDOC, PFKL, PDHX, PRPS1, SDHA and GAPDH were involved in lipid metabolism. These genes may play a crucial role in controlling fat deposition in AF and BM tissues of Zhijin white goose.