Molecular regulation of differential lipid molecule accumulation in intramuscular fat and abdominal fat of chicken

Background: Reducing abdominal fat (AF) accumulation and increasing the level of intramuscular fat (IMF) simultaneously is a major breeding goal in poultry industry. Results To explore the different molecular mechanisms between AF and IMF, gene expression profiles in the breast muscle (BM) and AF among three chicken breeds were analyzed. A total of 4737 shared DEGs were identified between BM and AF, of which 2602 DEGs were upregulated and 2135 DEGs were downregulated in the BM groups compared with that in AF groups. DEGs involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism were potential regulators resulting in the difference of lipid metabolite accumulation in IMF and AF. PPAR signaling pathway was the most important pathway involved in tissue-specific lipid deposition. Correlation analysis showed that most representative DEGs enriched in PPAR signaling pathway, such as FABP5 , PPARG , ACOX1 , GK2 , were negatively correlated with PUFA-enriched glycerophospholipid molecules. Most DEGs related to glycerophospholipid metabolism, such as GPD2 , GPD1 , PEMT , CRLS1 and GBGT1 , were positively correlated with glycerophospholipid molecules, especially DHA- and arachidonic acid (ARA)- containing glycerophospholipid molecules. Conclusion This study elucidated the molecular mechanism of tissue-specific lipid deposition and poultry meat quality.