Screening of Genes Related to Fat Deposition of Pekin Ducks Based on Transcriptome Analysis

Simple Summary Fat deposition ability is an important index with which to evaluate meat-producing ducks. Ducks with the same diet and environment can present with differences in fat deposition ability if they have diverse genetic backgrounds. Nankou 1 Pekin ducks and Jingdian Pekin ducks are common strains of Pekin duck, a famous, large-sized meat-producing duck breed with a fast growth rate, high feed conversion rate and short growth cycle. The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in slaughtering performance and transcriptome profiles of different strains of Pekin ducks, so as to explore the mechanisms regulating fat deposition in ducks. The results showed that Nankou 1 had greater abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat content than Jingdian ducks, and that the gene expression differences between these two strains of ducks may be the cause of the differences in fat deposition. This study lays a foundation for exploring the regulatory mechanism of fat deposition in ducks and provides a theoretical basis for breeding high-quality meat-producing ducks.Abstract Subcutaneous fat deposition is an important index with which to evaluate meat-producing ducks, and affects their meat quality and feed conversion rate. Studying the differentially expressed genes in subcutaneous fat will help to comprehensively understand the potential mechanisms regulating fat deposition in ducks. In this study, 72 Nankou 1 Pekin Ducks and 72 Jingdian Pekin Ducks (half male and half female) at 42 days of age were selected for slaughter performance and transcriptome analysis. The results showed that the breast-muscle yield of Nankou 1 ducks was significantly higher than that of Jingdian ducks, but that the abdominal fat yield and subcutaneous fat yield were higher than that of Jingdian ducks. Thousands of DEGs, including many important genes involved in fat metabolism regulation, were detected by transcriptome. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were significantly enriched on pathways such as regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, primary bile acid biosynthesis, and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids. SCD, FGF7, LTBP1, PNPLA3, ADCY2, and ACOT8 were selected as candidate genes for regulating subcutaneous fat deposition. The results indicated that Nankou 1 had superior fat deposition ability compared to Jingdian ducks, and that the candidate genes regulated fat deposition by regulating fat synthesis and decomposition.