Transcriptome analysis of perirenal fat from Spanish Assaf suckling lamb carcasses showing different levels of kidney knob and channel fat

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Introduction Suckling lamb meat is highly appreciated in European Mediterranean countries because of its mild flavor and soft texture. In suckling lamb carcasses, perirenal and pelvic fat depots account for a large fraction of carcass fat accumulation, and their proportions are used as an indicator of carcass quality. Material and methods This study aimed to characterize the genetic mechanisms that regulate fat deposition in suckling lambs by evaluating the transcriptomic differences between Spanish Assaf lambs with significantly different proportions of kidney knob and channel fat (KKCF) depots in their carcasses (4 High-KKCF lambs vs. 4 Low-KKCF lambs). Results The analyzed fat tissue showed overall dominant expression of white adipose tissue gene markers, although due to the young age of the animals (17-36 days), the expression of some brown adipose tissue gene markers (e.g., UCP1 , CIDEA ) was still identified. The transcriptomic comparison between the High-KKCF and Low-KKCF groups revealed a total of 80 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The enrichment analysis of the 49 DEGs with increased expression levels in the Low-KKCF lambs identified significant terms linked to the biosynthesis of lipids and thermogenesis, which may be related to the higher expression of the UCP1 gene in this group. In contrast, the enrichment analysis of the 31 DEGs with increased expression in

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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