Multiomics Integration Reveals Rearing System-Induced Variations in Volatile Organic Compounds, Metabolites, and Meat Quality of Lueyang Black-Bone Chickens

Indigenous chicken breeds are favored in China for superior
meat
quality. We compared the breast meat of Lueyang black-bone chickens
reared under free-range and cage systems at four ages (120, 150, 180,
and 360 days), integrating phenotypic, metabolomic, volatilomic, and
transcriptomic analyses. Free-range chickens displayed a lighter meat
color and reduced intramuscular fat content. At 120 days, caged chickens
exhibited a richer volatile organic compound (VOC) profile correlating
with fat deposition; as fat increased in the free-range group, this
correlation lessened, with elevated 2-pentylfuran, tetradecanoic acid
ethyl ester, and 2-nonanol. Multiomics integration revealed that the
rearing system alters the muscle metabolic O-phosphorylethanolamine
in adaptive regulation of muscle development and fat deposition via
the Kennedy pathway and identified TGFB2, MAP3K, PPP3CA, and PPM1A
as key regulators. These findings clarify the molecular mechanisms
by which free-range rearing enhances meat quality, informing indigenous
poultry production.