Construction of a molecular regulatory network for lipids and volatile flavor in Chinese indigenous and hybrid pig pork through integrating multi-omics analysis

Chinese indigenous and newly bred black pigs are often regarded as high-end pork due to their excellent muscle quality and distinctive flavor. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms that give rise to flavor disparities among pig breeds remain unclear. This study aims to construct a molecular network that regulates pork flavor and lipid components based on volatilomics, targeted lipidomics, and transcriptomics. The results revealed that the sensory scores and most meat quality indicators of Lvjiahei and Jinhua pork were significantly superior to Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) pork. Twenty-two differential volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 21 differential lipids were detected among three breeds using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and partial least squares-regression (PLS-R) models. Based on transcriptome data from the three pig breeds, 73 overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified as candidate genes in the three pairwise comparisons. Meanwhile, a correlation network of genes-lipids-VOCs was constructed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (|R| > 0.6). Besides, six essential DEGs might be involved in the lipid metabolic pathway based on the results of functional enrichment analysis. Our study provides a new perspective on the genes-lipids-VOCs axis in understanding pork flavor and establishes a theoretical framework for breeding high-quality pork.