Integrative lipidomic and genomic analysis identifies key lipids for wooden breast in chickens.
5 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, The Broiler Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
- 2College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
- 3College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Jilin, 130118, China.
- 4State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, The Broiler Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China. [email protected].
- 5State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, The Broiler Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Wooden breast (WB) is a prevalent myopathy in broilers that substantially reduces meat quality and causes considerable economic losses. However, the genetic architecture and lipidomic alterations associated with WB remain poorly understood. This study aimed to integrate untargeted lipidomics and genomic analyses to characterize lipid alterations and their associated genetic factors in WB.Results
To characterize WB-related phenotypes, pectoralis major muscles from 312 broilers were evaluated for WB severity, compression force (CF), endomysium thickness, and total lipid abundance. By integrating differential abundance analysis, trend analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified a core set of 25 lipid species. Further refinement using Mendelian randomization (MR) and mediation analyses prioritized nine lipids as candidate molecular traits associated with genetic variation and WB, seven of which showed consistent associations in an independent cohort (n = 119). Metabolome genome-wide association study (mGWAS) of these lipids identified a consensus genetic locus on chromosome 6 (19.55-20.15 Mb) shared by three candidate lipids. Integration of transcriptomic profiles from genes within this locus prioritized five candidate genes, with MAPK8 and NPY4R showing consistent expression patterns in the independent cohort. Based on its potential biological relevance, MAPK8 was selected for functional characterization in chicken primary myoblasts. MAPK8 overexpression and knockdown produced opposite effects on lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis-related gene expression, suggesting that MAPK8 may participate in cellular processes involved in lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and fibrotic remodeling associated with WB.Conclusions
This study provides an integrated overview of lipid metabolic alterations and their genetic architecture in WB-affected chickens. Collectively, these findings identify candidate lipid biomarkers and genetic loci and implicate MAPK8 as a candidate gene associated with lipid deposition and fibrotic remodeling in WB.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026integrative,
title = {{Integrative lipidomic and genomic analysis identifies key lipids for wooden breast in chickens.}},
author = {Yanru Chen and Lu Bai and Xiaochun Ma and Mengjie Wang and Yaoyao Tang and Zhiqing Li and Yingying Pei and Haohan Zhang and Guiping Zhao and Jie Wen and Ranran Liu},
journal = {Journal of animal science and biotechnology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1186/s40104-026-01517-5},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972489},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Integrative lipidomic and genomic analysis identifies key lipids for wooden breast in chickens.
AU - Yanru Chen
AU - Lu Bai
AU - Xiaochun Ma
AU - Mengjie Wang
AU - Yaoyao Tang
AU - Zhiqing Li
AU - Yingying Pei
AU - Haohan Zhang
AU - Guiping Zhao
AU - Jie Wen
AU - Ranran Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - Journal of animal science and biotechnology
DO - 10.1186/s40104-026-01517-5
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972489
AB - Background Wooden breast (WB) is a prevalent myopathy in broilers that substantially reduces meat quality and causes considerable economic losses. However, the genetic architecture and lipidomic alterations associated with WB remain poorly understood. This study aimed to integrate untargeted lipidomics and genomic analyses to characterize lipid alterations and their associated genetic factors in WB.Results To characterize WB-related phenotypes, pectoralis major muscles from 312 broilers were evaluated for WB severity, compression force (CF), endomysium thickness, and total lipid abundance. By integrating differential abundance analysis, trend analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified a core set of 25 lipid species. Further refinement using Mendelian randomization (MR) and mediation analyses prioritized nine lipids as candidate molecular traits associated with genetic variation and WB, seven of which showed consistent associations in an independent cohort (n = 119). Metabolome genome-wide association study (mGWAS) of these lipids identified a consensus genetic locus on chromosome 6 (19.55-20.15 Mb) shared by three candidate lipids. Integration of transcriptomic profiles from genes within this locus prioritized five candidate genes, with MAPK8 and NPY4R showing consistent expression patterns in the independent cohort. Based on its potential biological relevance, MAPK8 was selected for functional characterization in chicken primary myoblasts. MAPK8 overexpression and knockdown produced opposite effects on lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis-related gene expression, suggesting that MAPK8 may participate in cellular processes involved in lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and fibrotic remodeling associated with WB.Conclusions This study provides an integrated overview of lipid metabolic alterations and their genetic architecture in WB-affected chickens. Collectively, these findings identify candidate lipid biomarkers and genetic loci and implicate MAPK8 as a candidate gene associated with lipid deposition and fibrotic remodeling in WB.
SN - 1674-9782
SN - 2049-1891
ER -