engleski

Effect of acorn feeding on meat quality and expression of myosin heavy chain and some energy metabolism-related genes in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Turopolje pigs

The Turopolje pig (TP) is a fatty pig breed traditionally reared in an outdoor system linked to local oak forests and marsh meadows in Central Croatia. There is limited information on meat quality and skeletal muscle myofibers characteristics from TP, including the impact of locally available feed. Therefore, the present study investigated the meat quality and contractile/metabolic properties of longissimus dorsi muscle (MLD) from TP fed either conventional (C) or acorn-supplemented (A) finishing diets. The MLD quality traits (pH, color, drip loss, intramuscular fat (IMF), fatty acid (FA) profile) were determined by standard methods, and expression of selected genes related to myofiber contractile/metabolic properties by qPCR. The results showed no significant effects of acorn feeding on meat quality, and myofibers contractile phenotype determined by the expression of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms, except for lower pH24 and higher saturated FA content (SFA) in group A. Among the genes related to metabolic phenotype, a 2-fold increase in the expression of FASN (FA synthase) was found in group A compared with group C. This is consistent with the higher saturation of IMF in acorn-fed pigs, thus suggesting an up- regulatory effect of acorns on SFA synthesis. GYS1 (glycogen synthase) also tended to be more strongly expressed under acorn supplementation, which is in line with the observed pH differences.

Turopolje pigs ; acorn ; meat quality ; MyHCs ; metabolic phenotype ; qPCR

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