A Key Gene, PLIN1, Can Affect Porcine Intramuscular Fat Content Based on Transcriptome Analysis
by
Bojiang Li ,
Qiannan Weng ,
Chao Dong ,
Zengkai Zhang ,
Rongyang Li ,
Jingge Liu ,
Aiwen Jiang ,
Qifa Li ,
Chao Jia ,
Wangjun Wu * and
Honglin Liu *
Bojiang Li ,
Qiannan Weng ,
Chao Dong ,
Zengkai Zhang ,
Rongyang Li ,
Jingge Liu ,
Aiwen Jiang ,
Qifa Li ,
Chao Jia ,
Wangjun Wu * and
Honglin Liu *
Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Genes 2018, 9(4), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9040194
Received: 13 February 2018 / Revised: 22 March 2018 / Accepted: 27 March 2018 / Published: 4 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Animal Genetics and Genomics)
Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is an important indicator for meat quality evaluation. However, the key genes and molecular regulatory mechanisms affecting IMF deposition remain unclear. In the present study, we identified 75 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the higher (H) and lower (L) IMF content of pigs using transcriptome analysis, of which 27 were upregulated and 48 were downregulated. Notably, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis indicated that the DEG perilipin-1 (PLIN1) was significantly enriched in the fat metabolism-related peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway. Furthermore, we determined the expression patterns and functional role of porcine PLIN1. Our results indicate that PLIN1 was highly expressed in porcine adipose tissue, and its expression level was significantly higher in the H IMF content group when compared with the L IMF content group, and expression was increased during adipocyte differentiation. Additionally, our results confirm that PLIN1 knockdown decreases the triglyceride (TG) level and lipid droplet (LD) size in porcine adipocytes. Overall, our data identify novel candidate genes affecting IMF content and provide new insight into PLIN1 in porcine IMF deposition and adipocyte differentiation.
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Keywords:
pig; intramuscular fat content; transcriptome; candidate genes; PLIN1
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Li, B.; Weng, Q.; Dong, C.; Zhang, Z.; Li, R.; Liu, J.; Jiang, A.; Li, Q.; Jia, C.; Wu, W.; Liu, H. A Key Gene, PLIN1, Can Affect Porcine Intramuscular Fat Content Based on Transcriptome Analysis. Genes 2018, 9, 194.
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