Liao Tianci, Gan Mailin, Zhu Yan, Lei Yuhang, Yang Yiting, Zheng Qianli, Niu Lili, Zhao Ye, Chen Lei, Wu Yuanyuan, Zhou Lixin, Xue Jia, Zhou Xiaofeng, Wang Yan, Shen Linyuan, Zhu Li
Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Foods. 2025 Aug 3;14(15):2719. doi: 10.3390/foods14152719.
Pork is a major global source of animal protein, and improving both its production efficiency and meat quality is a central goal in modern animal agriculture and food systems. This study investigated post-inflection-point growth patterns in two genetically distinct pig breeds-the lean-type Yorkshire pig (YP) and the fatty-type Qingyu pig (QYP)-with the aim of elucidating breed-specific characteristics that influence pork quality and yield. Comprehensive evaluations of carcass traits, meat quality attributes, nutritional composition, and gene expression profiles were conducted. After the growth inflection point, carcass traits exhibited greater variability than meat quality traits in both breeds, though with distinct patterns. YPs displayed superior muscle development, with the longissimus muscle area (LMA) increasing rapidly before plateauing at ~130 kg, whereas QYPs maintained more gradual but sustained muscle growth. In contrast, intramuscular fat (IMF)-a key determinant of meat flavor and texture-accumulated faster in YPs post inflection but plateaued earlier in QYPs. Correlation and clustering analyses revealed more synchronized regulation of meat quality traits in QYPs, while YPs showed greater trait variability. Gene expression patterns aligned with these phenotypic trends, highlighting distinct regulatory mechanisms for muscle and fat development in each breed. In addition, based on the growth curves, we calculated the peak age at which the growth rate declined in lean-type and fat-type pigs, which was approximately 200 days for YPs and around 270 days for QYPs. This suggests that these ages may represent the optimal slaughter times for the respective breeds, balancing both economic efficiency and meat quality. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing pork quality through precision management and offer theoretical guidance for developing breed-specific feeding strategies, slaughter timing, and value-added pork production tailored to consumer preferences in the modern food market.
猪肉是全球动物蛋白的主要来源，提高其生产效率和肉质是现代畜牧业和食品系统的核心目标。本研究调查了两个基因不同的猪品种——瘦肉型约克夏猪（YP）和脂肪型青峪猪（QYP）拐点后的生长模式，旨在阐明影响猪肉品质和产量的品种特异性特征。对胴体性状、肉质属性、营养成分和基因表达谱进行了综合评估。在生长拐点之后，两个品种的胴体性状均比肉质性状表现出更大的变异性，不过模式不同。约克夏猪表现出更优的肌肉发育，背最长肌面积（LMA）在达到约130千克趋于平稳之前迅速增加，而青峪猪的肌肉生长较为平缓但持续增长。相比之下，肌内脂肪（IMF）——肉风味和质地的关键决定因素——在拐点后在约克夏猪中积累得更快，但在青峪猪中更早达到平稳。相关性和聚类分析显示，青峪猪的肉质性状调控更为同步，而约克夏猪的性状变异性更大。基因表达模式与这些表型趋势一致，突出了每个品种中肌肉和脂肪发育的不同调控机制。此外，基于生长曲线，我们计算了瘦肉型和脂肪型猪生长速率下降的峰值年龄，约克夏猪约为200天，青峪猪约为270天。这表明这些年龄可能代表各自品种的最佳屠宰时间，兼顾了经济效率和肉质。这些发现为通过精准管理提高猪肉品质提供了宝贵见解，并为制定针对现代食品市场消费者偏好的品种特异性饲养策略、屠宰时机和增值猪肉生产提供了理论指导。
