Transcriptomes from Longissimus dorsi samples of Korean Native Cattle (Hanwoo). Bos taurus

To identify transcriptional markers for beef traits related to meat tenderness and moisture, we measured the transcriptome of the Longissimus dorsi skeletal muscle in 10 Korean native cattle (KNC). We analyzed the correlation between the beef transcriptome and measurements of four different beef traits, shear force (SF), water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), and loin eye area (LEA). We obtained non-overlapping and unique panels of genes showing strong correlations (|r| > 0.8) with SF, WHC, CL, and LEA, respectively. Functional studies of these genes indicated that SF was mainly related to energy metabolism, and LEA to rRNA processing. Interestingly, our data suggested that WHC is influenced by protein metabolism. Overall, the skeletal muscle transcriptome pointed to the importance of energy and protein metabolism in determining meat quality after the aging process. The panels of transcripts for beef traits may be useful for predicting meat tenderness and moisture. Overall design: Gene expression profiles were correlated with beef traits measured at the same cattle.

为筛选与牛肉嫩度及多汁性相关的肉牛性状转录标记，本研究对10头韩国本土肉牛（Korean native cattle, KNC）的背最长肌骨骼肌转录组进行了分析。本研究解析了牛肉转录组与4项肉牛性状测定值之间的相关性，包括剪切力（shear force, SF）、持水力（water holding capacity, WHC）、蒸煮损失（cooking loss, CL）及眼肌面积（loin eye area, LEA）。我们分别获得了与上述4项性状呈强相关性（|r|>0.8）且互不重叠的独特基因面板。对这些基因的功能研究表明，剪切力主要与能量代谢相关，眼肌面积则与核糖体RNA（rRNA）加工过程相关。有趣的是，本研究数据显示持水力受蛋白质代谢影响。总体而言，骨骼肌转录组分析揭示了能量与蛋白质代谢在熟化后牛肉品质形成中的重要作用。上述肉牛性状相关转录本集可用于预测牛肉嫩度与多汁性。试验整体设计：将基因表达谱与同一肉牛个体测定的肉牛性状进行相关性分析。