Evaluation of the Effects of Acorns on the Meat Quality and Transcriptome Profile of Finishing Yuxi Pigs

In this study, we explored the effects of dietary acorn on the meat quality and transcriptome profile of finishing Yuxi pigs. A total of 90 pigs (99.60 ± 1.63 kg) were randomly assigned to three groups: the control group fed a commercial diet (CN), and two treatment groups fed 100 (AC1) and 300 (AC2) g/kg of acorns, respectively. Each group contained five replicates with six pigs per replicate. After a 120-day treatment period, the AC2 group showed significantly higher pH_24h, <i>a*</i>, intramuscular fat, and umami amino acid and significantly lower <i>L*</i>, cooking loss, and shear force than the CN group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Further, the AC2 group showed significantly increased glycogen, ATP, and ADP, creatine kinase activity, and myofiber density and significantly decreased glycolytic potential, lactic acid, and lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase muscle, and pyruvate kinase activities (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The mRNA levels of <i>MYH7</i>, <i>MYH2</i>, and <i>MYH1</i> were significantly upregulated in the AC2 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). A transcriptome analysis further revealed significant differences in gene expression patterns between the AC2 and CN groups. These findings suggest that dietary acorns at 300 g/kg improve pork quality by inducing the conversion of myofiber types and regulating glycolysis.