Transcriptome analysis identifies signaling pathways related to meat quality in broiler chickens – the extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction signaling pathway

Meat quality characteristics, including juiciness, flavor, and tenderness, can be mostly attributed to the total muscle fat content, intramuscular fat (IMF), and the composition of its fatty acids, which are regulated by the balance between lipid uptake, transport, synthesis, and subsequent metabolism, involving many genes and pathways. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the key signaling pathways related to chicken meat quality, and to provide help for improving chicken meat quality. The present study reports the RNA-sequencing analysis of pectorales and crureus of the Zhuanghe dagu chicken and the Arbor Acres Broiler chicken (AA chicken). We identified certain differentially expressed genes that affect IMF deposition, such as EHHADH, TECRL, NDUFAB1, PCCB, and HIBCH, which were upregulated in Zhuanghe dagu chicken , and GCDH, TPI1, ABHD13, PSMC1, MYST2, and FBXO11, which were upregulated in AA chickens. Pathway analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes indicated that the extracellular matrix (ECM)–receptor interaction pathway is co-enriched in both tissues, and forms a sub-pathway of other enriched pathways. Intriguingly, the ECM–receptor interaction pathway genes are regulated differently in different gene pools. Collagens, which are main ECM constituents, and laminin and integrin β1 transmembrane receptors were significantly downregulated in both tissues of the AA chicken. The results showed that the ECM-receptor interaction pathway affect the quality of chicken meat by affecting the metabolism of intramuscular adipocytes. Further investigation of this signaling pathway will be helpful to the improvement of chicken meat quality.