Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb;30(2):246-253.
doi: 10.5713/ajas.16.0020. Epub 2016 May 22.

Changes in expression of monocarboxylate transporters, heat shock proteins and meat quality of Large White Yorkshire and Ghungroo pigs during hot summer period

Thulasiraman Parkunan  1 , Arun K Das  2 , Dipak Banerjee  1 , Niharika Mohanty  2 , Avishek Paul  3 , P K Nanda  2 , T K Biswas  2 , Syamal Naskar  2 , Sadhan Bag  3 , Mihir Sarkar  3 , Narayana H Mohan  4 , Bikash Chandra Das  2
Affiliations

Changes in expression of monocarboxylate transporters, heat shock proteins and meat quality of Large White Yorkshire and Ghungroo pigs during hot summer period

Thulasiraman Parkunan et al. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Present study explores the effect of hot summer period on the glycolytic rate of early post-mortem meat quality of Ghungroo and Large White Yorkshire (LWY) pig and comparative adaptability to high temperature between above breeds by shifting the expression of stress related genes like mono-carboxylate transporters (MCTs) and heat shock proteins (HSPs).

Methods: Healthy pigs of two different breeds, viz., LYW and Ghungroo (20 from each) were maintained during hot summer period (May to June) with a mean temperature of about 38°C. The pigs were slaughtered and meat samples from the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles were analyzed for pH, glycogen and lactate content and mRNA expression. Following 24 h of chilling, LD muscle was also taken from the carcasses to evaluate protein solubility and different meat quality measurements.

Results: LWY exhibited significantly (p<0.01) higher plasma cortisol and lactate dehydrogenase concentration than Ghungroo indicating their higher sensitivity to high temperature. LD muscle from LWY pigs revealed lower initial and ultimate pH values and higher drip loss compared to Ghungroo, indicating a faster rate of pH fall. LD muscle of Ghungroo had significantly lower lactate content at 45 min postmortem indicating normal postmortem glycolysis and much slower glycolytic rate at early postmortem. LD muscle of LWY showed rapid postmortem glycolysis, higher drip loss and higher degrees of protein denaturation. Ghungroo exhibited slightly better water holding capacity, lower cooking loss and higher protein solubility. All HSPs (HSP27, HSP70, and HSP90) and MCTs (MCT1, MCT2, and MCT4) in the LD muscle of pigs inclined to increase more in Ghungroo than LWY when exposed to high temperature.

Conclusion: Effect of high temperature on the variation of HSPs and MCTs may play a crucial role in thermal tolerance and adaptation to different climatic conditions, pH regulation, muscle acidification, drip loss, protein denaturation and also in postmortem meat quality development.

Keywords: Ghungroo Pig; Glycolytic Rate; Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs); Large White Yorkshire; Meat Quality; Mono-carboxylate Transporters (MCTs); Summer Stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of summer stress on plasma cortisol and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in pigs. (** p<0.01, Mean±standard error). LWY, Large White Yorkshire.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of summer stress on the expression of HSP27, HSP70, and HSP90 in pigs. (* p<0.05,** p<0.01, Mean±standard error, n = 20). HSP, heat shock proteins; LWY, Large White Yorkshire.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of summer stress on the expression of MCT1, MCT2, and MCT4 in pigs. (* p<0.05, ** p<0.01, Mean±standard error, n = 20). MCT, mono-carboxylate transporters; LWY, Large White Yorkshire.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Baumgard LH, Rhoads RP, Rhoads ML, et al. Impact of climate change on livestock production. In: Sejian V, Naqvi SMK, Ezeji T, Lakritz J, Lal R, editors. Environmental stress and amelioration in livestock production. 1st ed. Springer; 2012. pp. 413–68.
    1. Berton MP, de Cássia Dourado R, de Lima FBF, et al. Growing-finishing performance and carcass yield of pigs reared in a climate-controlled and uncontrolled environment. Int J Biometeorol. 2015;59:955–60. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang M, Wang D, Geng Z, et al. The level of heat shock protein 90 in pig Longissimus dorsi muscle and its relationship with meat pH and quality. Food Chem. 2014;165:337–41. - PubMed
    1. Luca AD, Mullen AM, Elia G, Davey G, Hamill RM. Centrifugal drip is an accessible source for protein indicators of pork ageing and water-holding capacity. Meat Sci. 2011;88:261–70. - PubMed
    1. Yu J, Tang S, Bao E, et al. The effect of transportation on the expression of heat shock proteins and meat quality of M. longissimus dorsi in pigs. Meat Sci. 2009;83:474–8. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources