Insights Into Transcriptome Profiles Associated With Wooden Breast Myopathy in Broilers Slaughtered at the Age of 6 or 7 Weeks

Yuwares Malila; Tanaporn Uengwetwanit; Krittaporn V Thanatsang; Sopacha Arayamethakorn; Yanee Srimarut; Massimiliano Petracci; Francesca Soglia; Wanilada Rungrassamee; Wonnop Visessanguan

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.691194

Insights Into Transcriptome Profiles Associated With Wooden Breast Myopathy in Broilers Slaughtered at the Age of 6 or 7 Weeks

Front Physiol. 2021 Jun 28:12:691194. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.691194. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yuwares Malila¹, Tanaporn Uengwetwanit¹, Krittaporn V Thanatsang¹, Sopacha Arayamethakorn¹, Yanee Srimarut¹, Massimiliano Petracci², Francesca Soglia², Wanilada Rungrassamee¹, Wonnop Visessanguan¹

Affiliations

¹ National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, Thailand.
² Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.

Abstract

Transcriptomes associated with wooden breast (WB) were characterized in broilers at two different market ages. Breasts (Pectoralis major) were collected, 20-min postmortem, from male Ross 308 broilers slaughtered at 6 and 7 weeks of age. The breasts were classified as "non-WB" or "WB" based on palpation hardness scoring (non-WB = no abnormal hardness, WB = consistently hardened). Total RNA was isolated from 16 samples (n = 3 for 6 week non-WB, n = 3 for 6 week WB; n = 5 for 7 week non-WB, n = 5 for 7 week WB). Transcriptome was profiled using a chicken gene expression microarray with one-color hybridization technique, and compared between non-WB and WB samples of the same age. Among 6 week broilers, 910 transcripts were differentially expressed (DE) (false discovery rate, FDR < 0.05). Pathway analysis underlined metabolisms of glucose and lipids along with gap junctions, tight junction, and focal adhesion (FA) signaling as the top enriched pathways. For the 7 week broilers, 1,195 transcripts were identified (FDR < 0.05) with regulation of actin cytoskeleton, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum and FA signaling highlighted as the enriched affected pathways. Absolute transcript levels of eight genes (actinin-1 - ACTN1, integrin-linked kinase - ILK, integrin subunit alpha 8 - ITGA8, integrin subunit beta 5 - ITGB5, protein tyrosine kinase 2 - PTK2, paxillin - PXN, talin 1 - TLN1, and vinculin - VCL) of FA signaling pathway were further elucidated using a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that, in 6 week broilers, ITGA8 abundance in WB was greater than that of non-WB samples (p < 0.05). Concerning 7 week broilers, greater absolute levels of ACTN1, ILK, ITGA8, and TLN1, accompanied with a reduced ITGB5 were found in WB compared with non-WB (p < 0.05). Transcriptional modification of FA signaling underlined the potential of disrupted cell-cell communication that may incite aberrant molecular events in association with development of WB myopathy.

Keywords: broiler chicken; droplet digital polymerase chain reaction; focal adhesion; transcriptome profile; wooden breast.