Abstract
Background: The concept of the functional nutritional value of health-beneficial omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) is becoming a phenomenon among red meat consumers globally. This study examined the expressions of three lipogenic genes (fatty acid binding protein 4, FABP4, fatty acid synthase, FASN; and stearoyl-CoA desaturase, SCD) in the ribeye (Longissimus thoracis et lumborum) muscle of Tattykeel Australian White (TAW) lambs fed fortified omega-3 diets and correlations with fatty acids. To answer the research question, “are there differences in the expression of lipogenic genes between control, MSM whole grain and omega-3 supplemented lambs?”, we tested the hypothesis that fortification of lamb diets with omega-3 will lead to a down-regulation of lipogenic genes. Seventy-five six-month old TAW lambs were randomly allocated to the (1) omega-3 oil-fortified grain pellets, (2) unfortified grain pellets (control) or (3) unfortified MSM whole grain pellets diet supplements to generate three treatments of 25 lambs each. The feeding trial lasted 47 days.
Results: From the Kruskal-Wallis test, the results showed a striking disparity in lipogenic gene expression between the three dietary treatments in which the FABP4 gene was significantly up-regulated by 3-folds in the muscles of lambs fed MSM Milling (MSM) whole grain diet compared to the omega-3 and control diets. A negative correlation was observed between FASN gene expression and intramuscular fat (IMF), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). The FABP4 gene expression was positively correlated (P < 0.05) with EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Conclusion: Taken together, this study’s results suggest that FABP4 and FASN genes perform an important role in the biosynthesis of fatty acids in the ribeye muscle of TAW lambs, and supplementary diet composition is an important factor influencing their expressions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 666 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-9 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | BMC Genomics |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was funded by the Innovation Connections Research Grant from the Australian Commonwealth Government’s Department of Industry grant number ICG001084, Science Industry Endowment Fund Ross Metcalf STEM Business Fellowship co-funded by Tattykeel Australian White Pty Ltd. grant number 00044 (awarded to J.R.O.) and a PhD scholarship funded by the James Cook University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (JCUPRS), Queensland, Australia, (awarded to S.B.P).
Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge James Cook University College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences (PhD scholarship for the second-named author—S.B.P.), the Australian Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Resources Innovation Connections, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization SIEF Ross Metcalf STEM Business Industrial Research Fellowship (research funding for the first-named author— J.R.O.), Tattykeel Australian White Pty Ltd. (access to flock, farm resources, research funding), CSIRO Marine and Atmosphere Hobart (fatty acid analysis), and the National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Nigeria (study leave approval for the second-named author—S.B.P.).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).