Transcriptomic analysis of yak longissimus dorsi muscle identifies genes associated with tenderness

AbstractMeat tenderness is an important sensory index when consumers choose meat products, which determines the value of meat products and consumers’ buying intentions. Yak meat is rich in nutrition and unique in flavor, which is favored by consumers. However, its meat has the deficiencies of low tenderness and poor taste, which has a negative impact on the value of its meat products and customer satisfaction. To identify the genes affecting the yak meat tenderness, we used RNA-seq to analyze the longissimus dorsi muscle of yaks with different tenderness, screened a total of 1120 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Meanwhile, 23 pathways were significantly enriched. By further analysis, we identified eight genes related to yak meat tenderness (WNT5A, ARID5B, SERPINE1 KLHL40, RUNX1, MAFF, RFX7 and ARID5A). Notably, SERPINE1 was involved in the significant enrichment pathways of ‘complement and coagulation cascade pathway’, ‘HIF-1 signaling pathway’ and ‘AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications’ which can regulate meat tenderness. This implies that SERPINE1 may play an important regulatory role among them. The DEGs associated with yak meat quality screened in this work will be helpful to identify potential biomarkers related to meat tenderness.Keywords: Transcriptomemeat tendernessRNA-seqYak Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementAll data generated or analyzed in this study are included in this article and its additional files, or the common repository below. The transcriptome sequence data has been submitted to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive repository under the following accession numbers: [PRJNA837696] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA837696). Differential gene GO enrichment analysis results were uploaded to the figshare public database under the following website: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22757087.v1.Additional informationFundingThis work was financially supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program [2021YJ0268], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Southwest Minzu University [2022NYXXS051] and Program of National Beef Cattle and Yak Industrial Technology System [No. CARS-37], and the Key Research and Transformation Project of Qinghai Province [2022-NK-110].