Animal Bioscience最新文献

{"title":"Sweet basil oil nanoparticles as novel feed additives: impacts on productivity, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity, and microbiota in laying hens.","authors":"Suphasuta Tada, Sureerat Thuekeaw","doi":"10.5713/ab.260348","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.260348","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Nanotechnology has been suggested as a promising strategy for enhancing the stability and delivery efficiency of feed additives through the formation of nanoparticles (NPs). Sweet basil oil (SBO) contains a diverse range of bioactive constituents; however, its intestinal-targeted delivery remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of sweet basil oil nanoparticles (SBO-NPs) on egg production and egg quality, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity and cecal microbiota in laying hens.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 225 Roman Brown laying hens at 25 weeks of age were randomly assigned to three treatments with five replicates of 15 birds in a completely randomized design (CRD). Dietary treatments were as follows: (i) basal diet (Con), (ii) basal diet with free sweet basil oil (SBO) at 500 ppm, (iii) basal diet with SBO nanoparticles at 500 ppm (SBO-NPs), respectively. The experiment was conducted for 10 weeks, during which egg production and quality, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota were assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Dietary SBO-NPs significantly increased egg production than SBO and Con diets (p < 0.01). However, all additives had no effect on feed conversion ratio and egg quality (p > 0.05). SBO-NPs markedly improved villus height and villus surface area (p < 0.05). Furthermore, superoxide dismutase activity in duodenum and liver were increased by SBO-NPs. Malondialdehyde levels were significantly reduced by 52-53% in the SBO-NPs group compared to the Con group (p < 0.05). In contrast, the cecal microbiota remained broadly similar among treatments at the phylum and genus levels with no significant differences in the alpha and beta diversity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results demonstrated that the SBO-NPs enhanced egg production by improving intestinal morphology, increasing antioxidant capacity, and reducing lipid peroxidation.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148886329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of wet ageing with different marination methods on quality characteristics of Korean native black goat meat.","authors":"Shine Htet Aung, Rupasinghe Ramesh Nimantha, Phyo Htet Htet Kyaw, Oni Faith Oluwaseyi, Madiththe Gedara Asela Sandaruwan Abeyrathna, Young-Sun Choi, Ki-Chang Nam","doi":"10.5713/ab.260362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.260362","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study evaluated the effects of wet ageing combined with soaking or injection marination using pineapple powder solution on the physicochemical properties of Korean native black goat meat.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The samples were marinated with pineapple solution using soaking or injection methods, vacuum-packaged, and wet-aged at 4°C for 21 days, with analyses conducted at 7-day intervals. Physicochemical properties, lipid oxidation, texture profile analysis, protein degradation, and fatty acid composition were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Wet ageing combined with pineapple powder solution marination reduced pH and improved tenderness, as indicated by increased myofibrillar fragmentation index and reduced hardness (p < 0.05). However, marination also reduced water-holding capacity and increased cooking loss, with the injection treatment showing greater tenderization than soaking. Microbial counts remained within acceptable ranges throughout storage and were lower in the marinated treatments than in the control at later ageing periods. Additionally, soaking enhanced PUFA content and improved the nutritional quality indices by reducing the calculated atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Injection marination with pineapple powder solution into wet-aged goat meat may improve tenderness, while soaking provided a more favorable fatty acid profile during wet ageing.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148886340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genomic breeding value prediction and accuracy assessment for carcass traits in Jeju Black Cattle using Hanwoo reference populations.","authors":"Md Azizul Haque, Ji-Hee Jang, Monira Akter Mou, Yeeun Kang, Jong-Joo Kim","doi":"10.5713/ab.260150","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.260150","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of genomic prediction for carcass traits, specifically carcass weight (CWT), eye muscle area (EMA), backfat thickness (BF), and marbling score (MS) in Jeju Black Cattle (JBC) using a single-trait animal model and to compare the results with those obtained using Korean Hanwoo reference populations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The dataset comprised genotypes and phenotypes from 19,153 Hanwoo steers, 6,200 Hanwoo cows, 676 JBC steers, and 654 JBC cows, genotyped using Illumina 50K and Affymetrix 160K SNP chips. The entire population was divided into three groups. In Group 1, Hanwoo steers served as the reference population, whereas JBC steers and cows as the testing population (HSJB). Group 2 expanded the reference population by including both Hanwoo steers and cows, with the same JBC testing set (HAJB). In Group 3, JBC were used only as the reference population (JBJB). The single-trait genomic best linear unbiased prediction analysis was performed using ASReml SA-4.2 software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In HSJB, theoretical accuracies (ACCT) ranged from 0.47 to 0.53, while realized accuracies (ACCR) for the total population were 0.23 (CWT), 0.22 (EMA), 0.28 (BF), and 0.53 (MS). For JBC, ACCR ranged from 0.12 to 0.54 in cows and from 0.28 to 0.58 in steers. In Group 2, ACCT improved to 0.48-0.55, with ACCR of 0.25 (CWT), 0.37 (EMA), 0.28 (BF), and 0.47 (MS) in the total population. JBC cows had values between 0.27 to 0.31, while steers from 0.26 to 0.51 across various traits. JBJB showed the highest ACCT values of 0.50-0.54, with ACCR values of 0.46 (CWT), 0.65 (EMA), 0.38 (BF), and 0.55 (MS).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results indicate that the highest accuracies were obtained in Group 3, where JBC used only as a reference population. Therefore, to increase the prediction accuracy of JBC, it is essential to have breed-specific large populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"260150"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441313/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147986310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"N6-methyladenosine (m6A)-circHECA facilitates the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineage through miR-449a-5p/LEF1 mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cashmere goats.","authors":"Yixing Fan, Taiyu Hui, Qi Zhang, Ruqing Xu, Jincheng Shen, Yubo Zhu, Man Bai, Wenlin Bai","doi":"10.5713/ab.250779","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250779","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigates the potential effect of N6-methyladenosine (m6A)- circHECA on the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineage along with the underlying molecular mechanisms in cashmere goats.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The effect of m6A-circHECA on the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineage was assessed through knockdown its expression in SHF stem cells derived from cashmere goats. The functional significance of m6A modification in circHECA functional exertion was confirmed through transfecting m6A deficient mutants into circHECA knockdown SHF stem cells. The competitive bindings of miR-449a-5p to m6A-circHECA and the 3´-untranslated region of LEF1 mRNA was investigated using Dualluciferase reporter assay.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The m6A-circHECA exhibited significantly higher expression in SHF stem cells post-differentiation than pre-differentiation. Moreover, m6A-circHECA facilitated the differentiation process of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineages. The m6A-circHECA sequestering miR-449a-5p, to enhance the expression of the LEF1 gene in SHF stem cells and activating the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway. We further demonstrated that the m6A modification within circHECA is necessary for the miR-449a-5p/LEF1 mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which promote the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineages via the introduction of a m6A-deffcient mutant of circHECA.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The m6A-circHECA facilitates the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineage through miR-449a-5p/LEF1 mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cashmere goats.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250779"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441224/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147925627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of age on eggshell color and Haugh unit of eggs, protoporphyrin IX and ovomucin deposition and related gene expression in Hyline Brown laying hens.","authors":"Huan Xu, Yueping Chen, Xiaowei Sun, Yanmin Zhou, Chao Wen","doi":"10.5713/ab.250904","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250904","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study was conducted to investigate the effects of age on eggshell color, Haugh unit, and underlying mechanism in Hyline Brown laying hens.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 192 Hyline Brown laying hens at 165 (D165 group), 307 (D307 group), or 475 (D475 group) days of age were divided into 3 groups with 8 replicates of 8 birds each, and fed the same diet for three weeks.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to the D165 group, the D307 and D475 groups had higher (p<0.05) eggshell L* value and yolk ratio but lower (p<0.05) albumin ratio; the D475 group had higher (p<0.05) eggshell b* value but lower (p<0.05) albumin height, Haugh unit and eggshell a* value. The D165 group had higher (p<0.05) eggshell protoporphyrin IX content and ovomucin content in eggs than the D307 and D475 groups. The D165 group showed higher (p<0.05) total superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione content in eggshell gland compared to the D307 group. The malondialdehyde contents in serum, eggshell gland and magnum were higher in the D475 group than in the D165 group (p<0.05). The D307 and D475 groups had lower (p<0.05) mRNA levels of genes related to pigment synthesis and transport (coproporphyrinogen oxidase, aminolevulinic acid synthase-1 and ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2) than the D165 group. The D475 group had lower (p<0.05) mRNA levels of genes related to albumin synthesis (α-ovomucin and lysozyme) than the D165 and D307 groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>As hens aged, the deterioration of eggshell color and Haugh unit of eggs resulted from decreased gene expression and secretion of protoporphyrin IX and ovomucin, which could be attributed to increased lipid peroxidation in eggshell gland and magnum.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250904"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147484390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of zinc selenide nanospheres on porcine semen cryopreservation.","authors":"Bi Yu Zhang, Hai Dong Liu, Fu Qiang Chang, Ju Meng Wei, Jing Li, Wen Chao Li, Chong Mei Ruan","doi":"10.5713/ab.260067","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.260067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of zinc selenide (ZnSe) nanospheres on boar semen during cryopreservation and to determine the optimal supplementation concentration for improving post-thaw sperm quality and antioxidant status.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>ZnSe nanospheres were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using Na2SeO3 and Zn(CH3COO)2 as precursors. Ejaculates with motility ≥70% were collected from six healthy boars, pooled to minimize individual variation, and the entire experiment was independently repeated three times. Samples were mixed with cryopreservation extenders containing 0 (control), 0.1, 1, or 10 mmol/L ZnSe nanospheres. Post-freezing and thawing, sperm motility parameters, acrosome integrity, plasma membrane integrity, antioxidant enzyme activities, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were evaluated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Supplementation with 1 mmol/L ZnSe significantly improved post-thaw sperm motility, acrosome integrity, and plasma membrane integrity (p<0.05). Moreover, 1 mmol/L ZnSe markedly enhanced total antioxidant capacity, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities, while reducing malondialdehyde concentrations and intracellular ROS levels (p<0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Supplementation with 1 mmol/L ZnSe in the cryopreservation diluent effectively improves post-thaw sperm quality and antioxidant capacity, offering a promising strategy for optimizing porcine semen cryopreservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"260067"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441315/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147925635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resveratrol alleviated muscle fiber type transformation in oxidative stressed bovine myotubes through Akt/FoxO signaling pathway.","authors":"Huixin Zuo, Jing Sun, Jiatong Cui, Xiaoyin Yang, Yunge Liu, Yimin Zhang, Lixian Zhu","doi":"10.5713/ab.250976","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250976","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This research sought to explore how oxidative stress influences the composition of muscle fiber types in bovine myotubes and to assess the potential protective effect of resveratrol (RES) via the modulation of the Akt/FoxO signaling pathway.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Bovine myotubes were treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to induce oxidative stress, with or without co-treatment with RES. The analyses included metabolic and antioxidant enzyme activities, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting to evaluate fiber-type markers, mitochondrial biogenesis genes, and components of the Akt/FoxO pathway.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Oxidative stress led to a downregulation of slow-type myosin heavy chain (MyHC) and an upregulation of fast-type MyHC. The activity of key oxidative enzymes, including succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and malate dehydrogenase, along with major antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase. Concurrently, it enhanced lactate dehydrogenase activity and increased malondialdehyde levels, signifying increased lipid peroxidation. It also inhibited the Akt/FoxO pathway and downregulated genes associated with mitochondrial biogenesis (NRF-1, TFAM, ATP6). RES treatment significantly attenuated these changes. The activation of Akt by SC79 similarly alleviated oxidative stress-induced fiber-type transformation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Oxidative stress induces a transformation from slow to fast muscle fiber types in bovine myotubes, associated with the inhibition of the Akt/FoxO signaling pathway and a suppression in mitochondrial biogenesis. RES mitigates this shift in muscle fiber composition; its positive effects are linked to the reactivation of the Akt/FoxO signaling pathway and the enhancement of mitochondrial biogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250976"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441188/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147925613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of complex enzyme preparation supplementation in a low-protein amino acid-balanced diet on production performance, serum biochemistry, nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen balance of mid-lactation dairy cows.","authors":"Caijuan Yue, Tianle He, Lisha Ma, Yapeng Qin, Yaqiong Ren, Rui Zhang, Meili Zhou, Qiao'e Zhang","doi":"10.5713/ab.250890","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250890","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>High-protein diets for lactating dairy cows reduce nitrogen ( N ) use efficiency (NUE) and cause environmental nitrogen pollution. Low-protein (LP), amino acid (AA)-balanced diets are a promising alternative but carry the risk of impairing nutrient digestibility and cow productivity. Exogenous enzyme preparations may mitigate these limitations, but their specific effects and underlying mechanisms in this feeding scenario remain not fully elucidated.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ninety mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows were assigned to 3 treatment groups in a randomized block design: (1) normal protein (NP) diet (17.30% crude protein, CP); (2) low-protein (LP) AA-balanced diet (16.09% CP, supplemented with rumen-protected lysine [RP-Lys] and rumen-protected methionine [RP-Met]); (3) LP diet plus 20 g /head per day of complex enzyme preparation (LPEP group). The 75 -day trial consisted of a 15 -day adaptation period and a 60 -day formal feeding period.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the NP and LP groups, the LPEP group showed significantly better production performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, feed conversion efficiency and milk quality (p<0.05). Serologically, LPEP cows had significantly higher serum albumin, lower serum urea nitrogen and blood glucose, and optimized AA profiles in both serum and milk. In the rumen, the LPEP diet significantly reduced ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration, while increasing microbial crude protein (MCP), acetic acid, propionic acid and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), with no alteration of the overall ruminal fermentation pattern. Notably, the combination of LP AA-balanced diet and complex enzymes effectively reduced N excretion and improved NUE and N balance in dairy cows.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Supplementation of complex enzyme preparation to a LP AA-balanced diet exerts a marked synergistic effect with rumen-protected AAs. This combined strategy simultaneously improves production performance, milk quality and NUE while reducing N waste, providing critical support for developing environmentally sustainable and efficient dairy feeding regimens.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250890"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441186/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147986306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of gel and structural properties of pork myofibrillar protein gels using faba bean protein isolate at various salt concentrations.","authors":"Geon Ho Kim, Koo Bok Chin","doi":"10.5713/ab.250921","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250921","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the gel and structural properties of pork myofibrillar protein gels (MPGs) using faba bean protein isolate (FBPI) at various salt concentrations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>MPGs were prepared with or without 1 % FBPI under three salt concentrations (0.15, 0.30, and 0.45 M), yielding six treatments. The gel strength, viscosity, and cooking yield were measured. In addition, microstructure, surface hydrophobicity, sulfhydryl group, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were analyzed to examine the effects of FBPI and salt concentration on the gel and structural properties of MPGs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MPGs containing 1.0% FBPI had a higher cooking yield, gel strength, protein surface hydrophobicity, and shear stress values than the control groups. The addition of FBPI resulted in more homogenous MPGs with a denser surface compared to the control groups. No interactions in functional properties between FBPI addition and salt concentration were observed, except for gel strength. MPGs at a 0.45 M salt concentration showed a higher cooking yield and hydrophobicity and fewer sulfhydryl groups than those at a 0.15 M salt concentration. The shear stress values at a 0.45 M salt concentration dramatically increased compared to those at 0.15 M and 0.30 M. Furthermore, higher salt concentrations (0.45 M salt) resulted in fewer cavities and a more compact three-dimensional structure.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Higher salt concentrations may improve the rheological properties of MPGs and influence the effects of FBPI on the viscosity and protein patterns. These findings suggested that controlling salt concentration and FBPI level could be an effective strategy to enhance the gelation and structural characteristics of meat protein systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250921"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441185/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147925666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating single-nucleus RNA sequencing and gene perturbation reveals regulatory networks of intramuscular fat deposition in bovine skeletal muscle.","authors":"Fengying Ma, Mingjuan Gu, Lin Zhu, Risu Na, Caixia Shi, Guiting Han, Chencheng Chang, Le Zhou, Yanchun Bao, Shuai Li, Yaqiang Guo, Jiaxin Zhang, Wenguang Zhang","doi":"10.5713/ab.250897","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.250897","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Intramuscular fat (IMF) is key for meat quality. Although fibro/adipogenic progenitor cells (FAPs) participate in adipogenesis, roles of other stromal cells remain unclear. This study characterized cellular heterogeneity in cattle IMF deposition and identified essential cell types and mechanisms regulating intramuscular adipogenesis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing on longissimus dorsi muscle samples from three cattle breeds (Angus, Hereford, and Simmental) with divergent IMF content. Cell populations were annotated using multiple reference-based methods. We applied Scissor to identify phenotype-associated cells, CellChat to infer intercellular communication, high-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis to detect co-expression modules, and single-cell flux estimation analysis to evaluate metabolic activity. Virtual gene perturbation was evaluated using scTenifoldKnk, and drug-responsive cell subpopulations were assessed with scRank. Additional in vitro validation experiments were conducted to confirm the regulatory effect of BMPR1A.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ten cell types were identified. Angus (high marbling) showed elevated proportions of adipocytes, FAPs, and vascular endothelial cells (VEndoCs), while Hereford were enriched in type II fibers. VEndoCs were consistently linked to high IMF, acting as central signaling hubs that interact extensively with adipocytes and FAPs, and exhibited high glucose metabolic activity. Co-expression analysis within VEndoCs revealed 40 candidate regulators including nine BMP signaling pathway genes. Virtual knockdown identified BMPR1A as top regulator, altering expression of 13 lipid metabolism-related genes. In vitro validation confirmed that BMPR1A inhibition downregulated PPARγ mRNA, validating its positive regulatory role in intramuscular adipogenesis. Neurocytes showed highest sensitivity to resveratrol (via ALDH2), whereas FAPs were least responsive.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings indicate VEndoCs actively regulate intramuscular adipogenesis via a BMPR1A-mediated signaling pathway, supported by in vitro validation. These results provide insights into the cellular and molecular basis of marbling in cattle, highlighting BMPR1A as a potential target for genetic or nutritional strategies to improve meat quality.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"250897"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13441230/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147484365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}