Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intramuscular fat (intramuscular fat, IMF) is one of the important traits of pork quality. How to reasonably improve the intramuscular fat content is the most focus researchers. Some possible regulation of intramuscular fat deposition of candidate genes to cause the attention of people. The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) mRNA expression and intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition in the muscle tissue of three breeds of pig: Laiwu (LW), Lulai Black (LL), and Large White (LY). RESULTS: qPCR analysis of the PPARγ and ADRP genes in the three breeds of pig revealed PPARγ and ADRP mRNA expression profiles of LW > LL > LY and LL > LW > LY, respectively. PPARγ mRNA expression was significantly and positively correlated with IMF deposition (p < 0.05). There were significant correlations between PPARγ and ADRP mRNA expression levels (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest correlations between PPARγ and ADRP in fat deposition and regulation in pigs, PPARγ gene may be a main effector of IMF content and play an important role during adipocyte differentiation in pigs, thereby providing new information to further elucidate molecular mechanisms associated with intramuscular fat deposition in Laiwu pigs and provides new data for further molecular studies of mechanisms underlying intramuscular fat deposition in human obesity. The continued elucidation of specific genetic mechanisms between PPARγ and ADRP warrants further studies.