Study on the molecular mechanism of dietary FCE supplementation in regulating chicken meat quality

Meat quality is a critical factor influencing the sales of chicken. Most plant extracts have been shown to improve meat quality in poultry. This study selected 120 similar-weight (1.5 ± 0.2 kg) 135-day-old Jingyuan chickens, divided them into four groups, and fed them different doses (CON, 0.3 % FCE, 0.6 % FCE, and 0.9 % FCE) of fresh corn extract (FCE) until they were 180-day-old chickens. Fifteen chickens were randomly selected from each group for slaughter performance and meat quality assessment. Combining the transcriptome and metabolome sequencing data of the breast (CON and 0.6 % FCE), the weighted co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) method was used to identify hub genes and key metabolites significantly related to meat quality. The results showed that the 0.6 % FCE group was significantly better than the other groups in terms of slaughter performance and meat quality. Transcriptomic analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) significantly enriched in mineral absorption, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and phosphonate and phosphinate metabolism. Based on WGCNA, six key DEGs significantly associated with meat quality were selected. Metabolomics analysis identified differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) significantly enriched in the pathways of secondary bile acid biosynthesis, autophagy, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, and beta-alanine metabolism Pearson correlation analysis further revealed correlations between the six key DEGs (YKT6, ENSGALG00010016848, GALK2, COMMD9, EIF2D, and GABPB2) and five key DEMs (1H-Indole-4-carboxaldehyde, Leucylproline, Trimethoprim, Ursodeoxycholic acid, and N.epsilon.-Acetyl-L-lysine). Furthermore, the expression levels and content of these genes and metabolites in the breast muscle of Jingyuan chickens were also assessed.