Metabolites in Longissimus Lumborum From Beef Cattle Differ in Fat Content

Improving meat quality is an important goal in beef production. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the biochemical characteristics that drive muscle development and fat deposition and their effects on final quality is important in the fields of meat science and animal production. Recent research has shown that metabolites can be utilized as biological indicators for measuring meat quality. Therefore, the general meat quality, texture profile, and differentially abundant metabolites in longissimus lumborum from 10 Kazakh (with low fat content) cattle (KAZ) and 10 Xinjiang brown (with high fat content) cattle (BC) were analyzed. A total of 800 metabolites were detected, among which were 47 differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs), including 1 amine, 1 heterocyclic compound, 1 tryptamine choline pigment, 18 amino acid derivatives, 3 benzene and its substituted derivatives, 5 fatty acyls, 3 glycoproteins, 5 nucleotides and their metabolites, 5 organic acids and their derivatives, and 5 carbohydrates and their metabolites. The top 5 up- and downregulated DAMs between the two breeds included Arg-Lys, Pro-Glu-Val, 4-(aminomethyl) indole, N6-(2-hydroxyethyl) adenosine, methyldopa, and biliverdin, which are related to metabolic pathways such as arginine and proline metabolism, galactose metabolism, endocrine resistance, and glycerolipid metabolism, potentially affecting meat quality, including sensory acceptability. These results suggest that metabolites are potentially useful biological indicators for measuring meat quality and provide an important theoretical basis for improving beef flavor and taste.