Integrative transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveals alterations in energy metabolism and mitochondrial functionality in broiler chickens with wooden breast

This integrative study of transcriptomics and metabolomics aimed to improve our understanding of Wooden Breast myopathy (WB). Breast muscle samples from 8 WB affected and 8 unaffected male broiler chickens of 47 days of age were harvested for metabolite profiling. Among these 16 samples, 5 affected and 6 unaffected also underwent gene expression profiling. The Joint Pathway Analysis was applied on 119 metabolites and 3444 genes exhibiting differential abundance or expression between WB affected and unaffected chickens. Mitochondrial dysfunctions in WB was suggested by higher levels of monoacylglycerols and down-regulated genes involved in lipid production, fatty acid beta oxidation, and oxidative phosphorylation. Lower levels of carnosine and anserine, along with down-regulated carnosine synthase 1 suggested decreased carnosine synthesis and hence impaired antioxidant capacity in WB. Additionally, Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis results indicated that abundance of inosine monophosphate, significantly lower in WB muscle, was correlated with mRNA expression levels of numerous genes related to focal adhesion, extracellular matrix and intercellular signaling, implying its function in connecting and possibly regulating multiple key biological pathways. Overall, this study showed not only the consistency between transcript and metabolite profiles, but also the potential in gaining further insights from analyzing multi-omics data.