R. Bras. Zootec.13/nov/2026;55:e20250061.
Transcriptome and microbiome reveal key genes and colonic microorganisms affecting fat deposition in Tunchang pigs
Guiqing Huang
, Yunchao Zhang
, Jiayi He
, Chen Peng
, Kaiyu Chen
, Zhengguang Wang
ABSTRACT
To investigate the key genes and microorganisms that influence fat deposition in Tunchang (TC) pigs, fourteen clinically healthy 320-day-old TC sows (body weight: 86.00 ± 2.30 kg) were stratified into high-backfat (HBF, n = 7) and low-backfat (LBF, n = 7) groups according to the difference in backfat thickness. RNA sequencing was employed to analyze hepatic transcriptomes, with subsequent identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their biological functions. In parallel, 16S rRNA sequencing and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) quantification were conducted to characterize microbial community structure and metabolic profiles in intestinal contents across adiposity phenotypes. Transcriptomic profiling identified key regulators including PLIN2, CEL, CYP7A1, AMY2 and SLC34A2 associated with fat deposition, while microbiome analysis revealed significant correlations between Desulfovibrio, Succinivibrio, Faecalibacterium, and Treponema genera with SCFA dynamics. Low-backfat pigs may synergistically reduce fat deposition through enhanced fatty acid degradation at both the host gene and microbial levels. The findings elucidate potential mechanisms governing fat deposition in indigenous pig breeds, which not only provides candidate genes for molecular marker assisted breeding of local pigs and offering new insights into improving fat deposition through microbial regulation.
Palavras-chave: backfat thickness; differentially expressed gene; microbe; sequencing
