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. 2025 Aug 3;14(15):2719.
doi: 10.3390/foods14152719.

Carcass and Meat Quality Characteristics and Changes of Lean and Fat Pigs After the Growth Turning Point

Tianci Liao  1   2   3 , Mailin Gan  1   2   3 , Yan Zhu  1   2   3 , Yuhang Lei  1   2   3 , Yiting Yang  1   2   3 , Qianli Zheng  1   2   3 , Lili Niu  1   2   3 , Ye Zhao  1   2   3 , Lei Chen  1   2   3 , Yuanyuan Wu  4 , Lixin Zhou  5 , Jia Xue  5 , Xiaofeng Zhou  1   2   3 , Yan Wang  1   2   3 , Linyuan Shen  1   2   3 , Li Zhu  1   2   3
Affiliations

Carcass and Meat Quality Characteristics and Changes of Lean and Fat Pigs After the Growth Turning Point

Tianci Liao et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Pork is a major global source of animal protein, and improving both its production efficiency and meat quality is a central goal in modern animal agriculture and food systems. This study investigated post-inflection-point growth patterns in two genetically distinct pig breeds-the lean-type Yorkshire pig (YP) and the fatty-type Qingyu pig (QYP)-with the aim of elucidating breed-specific characteristics that influence pork quality and yield. Comprehensive evaluations of carcass traits, meat quality attributes, nutritional composition, and gene expression profiles were conducted. After the growth inflection point, carcass traits exhibited greater variability than meat quality traits in both breeds, though with distinct patterns. YPs displayed superior muscle development, with the longissimus muscle area (LMA) increasing rapidly before plateauing at ~130 kg, whereas QYPs maintained more gradual but sustained muscle growth. In contrast, intramuscular fat (IMF)-a key determinant of meat flavor and texture-accumulated faster in YPs post inflection but plateaued earlier in QYPs. Correlation and clustering analyses revealed more synchronized regulation of meat quality traits in QYPs, while YPs showed greater trait variability. Gene expression patterns aligned with these phenotypic trends, highlighting distinct regulatory mechanisms for muscle and fat development in each breed. In addition, based on the growth curves, we calculated the peak age at which the growth rate declined in lean-type and fat-type pigs, which was approximately 200 days for YPs and around 270 days for QYPs. This suggests that these ages may represent the optimal slaughter times for the respective breeds, balancing both economic efficiency and meat quality. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing pork quality through precision management and offer theoretical guidance for developing breed-specific feeding strategies, slaughter timing, and value-added pork production tailored to consumer preferences in the modern food market.

Keywords: carcass traits; growth turning point; meat quality; pork.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Differences in growth and development of Yorkshire pigs and Qingyu pigs. (A) The growth curve of YPs and QYPs. (B) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the top 500 expressed genes in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Yorkshire pigs (left) and Qingyu pigs (right).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall characteristics of carcass and meat quality of lean and fat pigs. (A–C) Principal component analysis (PCA) of carcass traits (A), meat quality traits (B), and nutritional components (C) reveals distinct clustering between lean-type (Yorkshire) and fat-type (Qingyu) pigs. (D,E) Hierarchical clustering heatmaps of carcass, meat quality, and nutritional traits at different body weight stages in lean-type (D) and fat-type pigs (E). (F) Global clustering analysis of all traits across both breeds. (G,H) Correlation heatmaps of carcass and meat quality traits within lean-type (G) and fat-type pigs (H). (I) Global correlation network combining both breeds.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The changes in carcass and meat quality indexes of lean and fat pigs. (A,B) Identification of significantly altered carcass traits, meat quality traits, and nutritional components in lean-type (A) and fat-type pigs (B) based on significance and correlation analyses. (C) Summary of the number of upregulated and downregulated traits in each pig type. (D–F) Dynamic changes in carcass (D), meat quality traits (E), and nutritional composition traits (F) in lean-type pigs with increasing body weight. (G–I) Dynamic changes in carcass (G), meat quality traits (H), and nutritional composition traits (I) in fat-type pigs during growth.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Differences in muscle development and fat deposition between lean and fat pigs after growth inflection point. (A,B) Correlation analysis of muscle growth and fat-deposition-related traits in lean-type (A) and fat-type (B) pigs. (C,D) Curve fitting analysis showing changes in LMA (C) and IMF (D) with increasing body weight in both pig types. (E,F) Peak point of growth rate decline in lean-type pigs (E) and fat-type pigs (F). (G–J) Expression patterns of muscle-development-related marker genes in muscle tissues of lean-type and fat-type pigs at different body weights. (K–N) Expression patterns of fat-deposition-related marker genes in adipose tissues of both pig types during growth.
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