Transcriptomics and metabolomics reveal improved performance of Hu sheep on hybridization with Southdown sheep

Consumers are increasingly demanding high-quality mutton. Cross breeding can improve meat quality and is widely used in sheep breeding. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of cross breeding sheep meat quality. In this study, male Southdown and female Hu sheep were hybridized. The slaughter performance and longissimus dorsi quality of the 6-month-old hybrid offspring were measured, and the longissimus dorsi of the hybrid offspring was analyzed by transcriptomics and metabolomics to explore the effect of cross breeding on meat quality. The results showed that the production performance of Southdown × Hu F₁ sheep was significantly improved, the carcass fat content was significantly decreased, and the eating quality of Southdown × Hu F₁ sheep were better. Compared with the HS group (Hu × Hu), the NH group (Southdown × Hu) had 538 differentially expressed genes and 166 differentially expressed metabolites (P < 0.05), which were significantly enriched in amino acid metabolism and other related pathways. Up-regulated genes METTL21C, PPARGC1A and down-regulated gene WFIKKN2 are related to muscle growth and development. Among them, the METTL21C gene, which is related to muscle development, was highly correlated with carnosine, a metabolite related to meat quality (correlation > 0.6 and P < 0.05). Our results provide further understanding of the molecular mechanism of cross breeding for sheep muscle growth and meat quality optimization.