Expression data from muscle transcriptome of pigs on low protein and control diets

The ratio of energy to protein in the finishing diet of growing pigs can impact on IMF content with consequences for pork quality. The objective of this study was to compare gene expression profiles of Musculus semimembranosus (SM) of animals divergent for IMF as a consequence of protein dietary restriction in an isocaloric diet. The animal model was derived through the imposition of low or high protein diets during the finisher stage in Duroc gilts. RNA was extracted from post mortem SM tissue, processed and hybridised to Affymetrix porcine GeneChip® arrays. Eleven purebred Duroc gilts were blocked on the basis of initial body weight and assigned to one of two dietary treatments. High (HP) and low protein (LP) diets were formulated to contain 217 and 128 g/kg crude protein (CP) respectively. The HP and LP diets contained 13.0 and 7 g/kg of total lysine, respectively. Downward adjustment of CP was achieved by increasing the wheat:soyabean meal ratio. Diets were isocaloric, formulated to an estimated digestible energy (DE) density of 14 MJ/kg.