Integrating Transcriptomic and Proteome Analysis to Understand Muscle Qualities and Related Regulatory Factors of Holstein Beef Under Transportation Stress.

This study aimed to explore the impact of transportation stress on beef quality and related regulatory mechanisms. Twelve Holstein steers of similar weight were divided into two groups: transportation for 15 h (STR) and transportation for 0 h (CON). The differences in meat quality, myofibril structure, and flavor components between transport-stressed and normal beef were compared. Through a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and proteome of the longissimus lumborum, the genes, proteins related to transport stress in meat were identified. The study found that the shear force, water loss rate, and drip loss of beef in the STR group were significantly higher than those in the CON group (p ≤ 0.05), and the marble grade of beef in the STR group was significantly lower than that in the CON group (p = 0.035); Muscle transmission electron microscopy, it was found that transportation significantly shortened the length of the sarcomere. Furthermore, long-distance transport has a detrimental effect on muscle flavor. We found that six DEGs/DEPs showed the same trend in mRNA and protein expression. It is plausible that transport stress influences beef quality and flavor, at least in part, through ferroptosis pathway-mediated lipid peroxidation. Meanwhile, the observed changes in stress-responsive genes/proteins (HMOX1 and BDH1) were linked to concomitant alterations in meat quality-associated genes/proteins (COL1A1, FMOD, and MYL3), indicating that these molecular events may collectively contribute to quality deterioration. Our results provide important insights into the impact of transportation stress on beef quality.