Feed efficiency (FE) is one of the most important economic traits in the porcine industry. In this study, high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was first utilized for brain tissue transcriptome analysis in pigs to indicate the potential genes and biological pathways related to FE in pigs. A total of 8 pigs with either extremely high-FE group (HE-group) or low-FE group (LE-group) were selected from 225 Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) (DLY) pigs for transcriptomic analysis. RNA-seq analysis was performed to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the HE- and LE-group, and 430 DEGs were identified in brain tissues of pigs (|log₂(FoldChange)| > 1; adjusted p-values <0.05). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in synaptic signaling or transmission, and hormone secretion pathways, in which insulin secretion, and oxytocin signaling pathways were closely associated with FE by regulating feeding behavior and energy metabolism (adjusted p-values <0.05). Further, the transcription factors (TFs) analysis and gene co-expression network analysis indicated three hub differentially expressed TFs (NR2F2, TFAP2D, and HNF1B) that affected FE by mainly regulating feeding behavior, insulin sensitivity, or energy metabolism. Our findings suggest several potential TFs and biological pathways for further investigations of FE in pigs.

中文翻译：

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脑转录组分析揭示了商业DLY猪的潜在转录因子和生物途径与饲料效率相关

饲料效率（FE）是养猪业最重要的经济特征之一。在这项研究中，高通量RNA测序（RNA-seq）首先用于猪脑组织转录组分析，以表明与猪FE相关的潜在基因和生物学途径。从225头杜洛克×（兰德斯·约克郡）（DLY）猪中选出8只高FE组（HE组）或低FE组（LE组）的猪进行转录组分析。进行了RNA-seq分析，以确定HE组和LE组之间的差异表达基因（DEG），并在猪的脑组织中鉴定出430个DEG（| log ₂（FoldChange）|> 1；调整后的p-值<0.05）。基因本体论和《京都基因与基因组百科全书》（KEGG）富集分析表明，DEG主要富集突触信号传导或传递，以及激素分泌途径，其中胰岛素分泌和催产素信号传导途径通过调节进食行为与FE密切相关和能量代谢（调整后的p值<0.05）。此外，转录因子（TFs）分析和基因共表达网络分析表明三个轮毂差异表达的TF（NR2F2，TFAP2D和HNF1B）主要通过调节进食行为，胰岛素敏感性或能量代谢影响FE。我们的研究结果为进一步研究猪中的FE提供了一些潜在的TF和生物学途径。