Identification of Biological Pathways Contributing to Marbling in Skeletal Muscle to Improve Beef Cattle Breeding

Zahra Roudbari*, Susan L. Coort, Martina Kutmon, Lars Eijssen, Jonathan Melius, Tomasz Sadkowski, Chris T. Evelo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Red meat is an important dietary source that provides part of the nutritional requirements. Intramuscular fat, known as marbling, is located throughout skeletal muscle. Marbling is a trait of major economic relevance that positively influences sensory quality aspects. The aim of the present study was to identify and better understand biological pathways defining marbling in beef cattle. Pathway analysis was performed in PathVisio with publicly available transcriptomic data from semitendinosus muscle of well-marbled and lean-marbled beef. Moreover, for Bos taurus we created a gene identifier mapping database with bridgeDb and a pathway collection in WikiPathways. The regulation of marbling is possibly the result of the interplay between signaling pathways in muscle, fat, and intramuscular connective tissue. Pathway analysis revealed 17 pathways that were significantly different between well-marbled and lean-marbled beef. The MAPK signaling pathway was enriched, and the signaling pathways that play a role in tissue development were also affected. Interestingly, pathways related to immune response and insulin signaling were enriched.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1370
Number of pages12
JournalFrontiers in Genetics
Volume10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Feb 2020

Keywords

  • marbling
  • curation pathway for cow
  • signaling pathway
  • improve breeding selection
  • transcriptomics profiling
  • INTRAMUSCULAR FAT DEPOSITION
  • LIPID-ACCUMULATION
  • SIGNALING PATHWAYS
  • EXPRESSION
  • GROWTH
  • GENE
  • DIFFERENTIATION
  • TRANSCRIPTION
  • TENDERNESS
  • INDICATORS

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