Impact of pre-slaughter stress on meat quality in beef cattle: A gene expression analysis

• Gene expression shows clear stress response in beef muscle tissues • FOS, SERPINE1, ATF3, etc., genes strongly linked to meat quality indicators • Pathway analysis reveals stress alters traits like pH and color in beef Pre-slaughter stress significantly affects beef quality traits such as tenderness, juiciness, and color, thereby influencing overall meat quality, consumer acceptance, and market value. This study investigates gene expression profiles in the Longissimus thoracis and Semitendinosus muscles of cattle exposed to moderate (MS) and limited stress (LS) conditions, aiming to identify molecular markers associated with pH regulation, water-holding capacity, and meat color. For this purpose, we analyzed transcriptomic data from the publicly available dataset GSE119912. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the limma package in R, with a cutoff of |log2FC| > 0.3 and padj-value < 0.05. Seventy-one genes were common to both muscle types under MS and LS conditions. The pathway analysis revealed substantial activity in stress response, together with oxidative stress, alongside muscle development processes. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis disclosed FOS, SERPINE1, and ATF3 among the most important hub genes, and these proteins were substantiated by applying GGE biplot and polygon analysis. The investigated genes manifested their direct connection to key aspects of meat quality, which included pH regulation and both water-holding capacity and color variables. This research shows that the identified gene expression markers have the potential to function as predictors for meat quality assessment while revealing how beef quality changes because of stress. Combining stress-reducing methods and genetic selection of desirable traits will improve beef quality production.