Transcriptome profile of skeletal muscle at different developmental stages in Large White and Mashen pigs

From the perspectives of promoting individual growth and development, increasing pork yield, and improving feed utilization, it is desirable to screen candidate genes underlying pig muscle growth and regulation. In this study, we investigated transcriptome differences at 1, 90, 180 days of age in Large White (LW) and Mashen (MS) pigs, characterized differentially-expressed genes (DEGs), and screened candidate genes affecting skeletal muscle growth and development. RNA-seq was applied to analyze the transcriptome of the longissimus dorsi (LD) in the two breeds. In LD samples from the two breeds at three growth stages, 7 215, 6 332, 237, 3 935, 3 404, and 846 DEGs were obtained for L01 vs. L90, L01 vs. L180, L90 vs. L180, MS01 vs. MS90, MS01 vs. MS180, and MS90 vs. MS180, respectively. Significant tendencies in DEG expression could be grouped into eight profiles. Based on the functional analysis of DEGs, 16 candidate genes related to skeletal muscle growth and development were identified, including PCK2, GNAS, ADCY2, PRKAB1, PRKAB2, PRKAG1, PRKAG2, PHKA1, PHKA2, PHKG1, PHKG2, ITPR3, IGF1R, FGFR4, FGF1, and FGF18. The results of this study thus provide a theoretical basis for the mechanisms and candidate genes underlying skeletal muscle development in pigs.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author