Differential expression patterns of myogenic regulatory factors in the postnatal longissimus dorsi muscle of Jeju Native Pig and Berkshire breeds along with their co-expression with Pax7

Abstract

Background: Myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) such as MyoD, Myf6 and Myf5 play a vital role in the growth and development of muscles. Jeju Native Pig (JNP) is the top ranker in Korea amongst the indigenous livestock reared for meat purpose. Few studies covering transcript abundance of the MRFs and related to their co-expression with Pax7 in JNP have been conducted. Despite having better quality pork, JNP does not have a comparative growth rate with respect to western breeds. Therefore, the present study was designed with the objective to study the relative transcript levels of MRFs in the postnatal myogenesis of longissimus dorsi muscles in JNP and Berkshire breeds.

Results: Relative transcript levels were analyzed by qRT-PCR and blot expression analysis through Western blotting. Immunocytochemistry was performed to analyze their expressions at cellular levels. ToppCluster aided in the analysis of gene ontology of biological processes. The quantitative transcript levels of MyoD and Pax7 were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in Berkshire than in JNP. Myotube formation was observed under the co-expression of MyoD and Pax7. ToppCluster helped in the understanding of the linking of biological processes of the MRFs with the different signaling pathways. MyBPH had significantly (P < 0.05) high transcript levels during the chosen age groups in JNP than Berkshire.

Conclusions: The current study can be helpful in understanding the genetic basis for myogenesis in postnatal stage. Moreover, it can act as stepping stone for the identification of marker genes related to body growth and meat quality in JNP.