Identification of Metabonomics Changes in Longissimus Dorsi Muscle of Finishing Pigs Following Heat Stress through LC-MS/MS-Based Metabonomics Method
by
, ,
Jie Gao
1,†
,
Peige Yang
1,†,
Yanjun Cui
2,
Qingshi Meng
1,
Yuejin Feng
1,
Yue Hao
1,
Jiru Liu
1,
Xiangshu Piao
3 and
Xianhong Gu
1,* 1
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
2
Institute of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an 311300, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Centre, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Animals 2020, 10(1), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10010129
Submission received: 18 November 2019
/
Revised: 26 December 2019
/
Accepted: 9 January 2020
/
Published: 13 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Pigs)
Simple Summary
Limited research exists on muscle metabolomics of finishing pigs under heat stress. In this study, nine different metabolites in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of finishing pigs under heat stress were screened and identified. Through quantitative verification, it was concluded that the content of L-carnitine in the LD muscles of the finishing pigs could be significantly decreased due to heat stress, which might be a biomarker for monitoring the animal health status and muscle quality under heat stress.
Abstract
Heat stress (HS) negatively affects meat quality by affecting material and energy metabolism, and exploring the mechanism underlying the muscle response to chronic HS in finishing pigs is important for the global pork industry. This study investigated changes in the metabolic profiles of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of finishing pigs under high temperature using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) and multivariate data analysis (MDA). Castrated male DLY pigs (Duroc × Landrance × Yorkshire pigs, n = 24) from 8 litters were divided into three treatment groups: constant optimal ambient temperature at 22 °C and ad libitum feeding (CR, n = 8); constant high ambient temperature at 30 °C and ad libitum feeding (HS, n = 8); and constant optimal ambient temperature 22 °C and pair-feeding to the control pigs (PF, n = 8). The metabolic profile data from LD muscle samples were analyzed by MDA and external search engines. Nine differential metabolites (L-carnosine, acetylcholine, inosinic acid, L-carnitine, L-anserine, L-α-glycerylphosphorylcholine, acetylcarnitine, thiamine triphosphate, and adenosine thiamine diphosphate) were involved in antioxidant function, lipid metabolism, and cell signal transduction, which may decrease post mortem meat quality and play important roles in anti-HS. Four metabolites (L-carnosine, acetylcholine, inosinic acid, and L-carnitine) were verified, and it was indicated that the muscle L-carnitine content was significantly lower in HS than in CR (p < 0.01). The results show that constant HS affects the metabolites in the LD muscle and leads to coordinated changes in the endogenous antioxidant defense and meat quality of finishing pigs. These metabonomics results provide a basis for researching nutritional strategies to reduce the negative effects of heat stress on livestock and present new insights for further research.
Keywords:
heat stress; pigs; skeletal muscle; metabolites
