Investigation of the relationship between meat fatty acids and the expression levels of genes associated with lipid metabolism in Kivircik and Hungarian Merino sheep

Context Depending on the degree of saturation, fatty acids can be saturated (SFA) or unsaturated (UFA: monounsaturated (MUFA) or polyunsaturated (PUFA) structures) and are of vital importance in energy production, metabolic processes, and structural activities in living organisms. Maintaining human health requires restricting the dietary intake of saturated fats while increasing the intake of UFAs. In this context, it is important for the livestock sector to develop animal improvement programs aimed at reducing the saturated fatty acid content and increasing the unsaturated fatty acid content of animal products. Aim This study aimed to investigate the expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism (PPAR-α, PPAR-γ, PCK2, SCD, LEP, FABP4, and FASN) with SFAs, MUFAs, and PUFAs found in the longissimus dorsi muscle in the Kivircik and the Hungarian Merino lambs. Methods The study involved 10 Kivircik and 10 Hungarian Merino lambs, weaned at 90 days of age. After the lambs were slaughtered, tissue samples were taken from the longissimus dorsi muscle to be used for fatty acid and gene expression analyses. Key results The determining genes identified for the MUFAs included the LEP gene for all fatty acids, excluding C16:1, C17:1 and C18:1 in the Kivircik lambs; the SCD gene for C14:1 and the PPAR-γ gene for C22:1 in the Hungarian Merino lambs. The determining genes identified for the PUFAs included the LEP gene for the n-3 PUFAs in the Kivircik lambs and PPAR-α, PCK2, SCD, and LEP in the Hungarian Merino lambs. Conclusions This study suggests that the PPAR-α, PPAR-γ, PCK2, SCD, and LEP genes, all of which are involved in adipogenesis, are potential candidate genes for animal breeding programs aimed at modifying fatty acid profiles in ovine breeds. This suggestion is based on their expression levels being particularly correlated with UFA profiles. Implications In this study, the LEP gene, among the genes investigated offers potential for use in animal breeding programs aimed at MUFAs, n-3 PUFAs, and n-6 PUFAs. Given the impact of PUFAs, including omega-3 and omega-6, on human health, identification of genes correlated with specific fatty acids in this study is expected to contribute to the discovery of potential alternative therapeutic agents.