M⁶A Regulates Intramuscular Fat Deposition in Rabbits Through LPL/3-Methyl-L-Histidine/Pathways

The flavor of rabbit meat has always been a major factor hindering the development of the rabbit industry. One of the main factors affecting the flavor of rabbit meat is intramuscular fat. N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) regulates multiple aspects of the physiology of animals. In this study, qRT-PCR and m⁶A-qPCR were used to identify genes and methylation levels. AAV virus was used as a vector to overexpress genes. To explore the regulatory mechanism of m⁶A on intramuscular fat in rabbits, we first explored the regulation of the LPL gene of rabbits by m⁶A at the cellular level using interfering RNA. Subsequently, we further validated the mechanism and explored the regulation of metabolites by LPL genes in living dorsal muscles. The results demonstrate that METTL3 inhibited LPL expression through m⁶A modification under the recognition of YTHDF2 in adipocytes and muscles. LPL promotes adipocyte differentiation and intramuscular fat deposition. In addition, LPL regulates intramuscular fat deposition through L-Glutamine/multiple pathways and 3-Methyl-L-histidine. This study confirms that m⁶A can affect the expression of the LPL gene in rabbits, thereby regulating the IMF of rabbit meat by L-Glutamine/multiple pathways and 3-Methyl-L-histidine. This study lays the molecular foundation for cultivating high-quality rabbit meat.