DataSheet1_Transcriptome and co-expression network analysis reveals the molecular mechanism of inosine monophosphate-specific deposition in chicken muscle.ZIP

The inosine monophosphate (IMP) content in chicken meat is closely related to muscle quality and is an important factor affecting meat flavor. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the IMP-specific deposition in muscle remain unclear. This study performed transcriptome analysis of muscle tissues from different parts, feeding methods, sexes, and breeds of 180-day-old Jingyuan chickens, combined with differential expression and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), to identify the functional genes that regulate IMP deposition. Out of the four comparison groups, 1,775, 409, 102, and 60 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which PDHA2, ACSS2, PGAM1, GAPDH, PGM1, GPI, and TPI1 may be involved in the anabolic process of muscle IMP in the form of energy metabolism or amino acid metabolism. WGCNA identified 11 biofunctional modules associated with IMP deposition. The brown, midnight blue, red, and yellow modules were strongly correlated with IMP and cooking loss (p < 0.05). Functional enrichment analysis showed that glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, arginine and proline metabolism, and pyruvate metabolism, regulated by PYCR1, SMOX, and ACSS2, were necessary for muscle IMP-specific deposition. In addition, combined analyses of DEGs and four WGCNA modules identified TGIF1 and THBS1 as potential candidate genes affecting IMP deposition in muscle. This study explored the functional genes that regulate muscle development and IMP synthesis from multiple perspectives, providing an important theoretical basis for improving the meat quality and molecular breeding of Jingyuan chickens.

鸡肉中的肌苷一磷酸（inosine monophosphate, IMP）含量与肌肉品质密切相关，是影响肉品风味的重要因素。然而，肌肉中IMP特异性沉积的分子调控机制仍不明确。本研究对180日龄京原鸡不同部位、饲喂方式、性别及品种的肌肉组织开展转录组分析，结合差异表达分析与加权基因共表达网络分析（weighted gene co-expression network analysis, WGCNA），筛选调控IMP沉积的功能基因。在4个比较组中，分别鉴定得到1775、409、102及60个差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEGs），其中PDHA2、ACSS2、PGAM1、GAPDH、PGM1、GPI及TPI1或可通过能量代谢或氨基酸代谢途径参与肌肉IMP的合成代谢过程。通过WGCNA共筛选得到11个与IMP沉积相关的生物功能模块，其中棕色、午夜蓝、红色及黄色模块与IMP含量及蒸煮损失呈显著相关（p < 0.05）。功能富集分析结果显示，由PYCR1、SMOX及ACSS2调控的糖酵解/糖异生、精氨酸与脯氨酸代谢及丙酮酸代谢通路，是肌肉IMP特异性沉积的关键调控通路。此外，通过差异表达基因与4个WGCNA模块的联合分析，筛选得到TGIF1与THBS1作为影响肌肉IMP沉积的潜在候选基因。本研究从多维度解析了调控肌肉发育及IMP合成的功能基因，为京原鸡肉品质改良与分子育种工作提供了重要的理论依据。