Comparative analysis of muscle profiles in silky fowl and white Leghorn Chicken: Insights from multi-omics and experimental approaches

Silky fowl is a highly valued breed of chicken with both culinary and medicinal significance. We conducted a comprehensive and integrated proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis to compare silky fowl meat (SFM) with Leghorn chicken meat (LCM). In SFM, 262 differentially expressed proteins (48 up-regulated, 214 down-regulated), 2577 differentially expressed genes (949 up-regulated, 1628 down-regulated), and 198 differentially abundant metabolites (52 up-regulated, 146 down-regulated) were identified. Our studies underscore the notable involvement of SFM in essential amino acid biosynthesis, accompanied by the up-regulation of genes associated with melanogenesis. Several genes exhibited consistent expression patterns with the results derived from real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). SFM contained higher levels of flavor-enhancing factors (glutathione, glycine, serine) relative to LCM. Moreover, it harbored the presence of pharmacologically significant metabolites alongside up-regulated genes related to vitamin E metabolism. These multi-omics differences provide a comprehensive framework that lays the groundwork for future investigations into the biological, nutritional, and pharmacological applications of silky fowl.