The quality of Tibetan sheep meat from pastures was synergistically regulated by the rumen microbiota and related genes at different phenological stages

Summary

Meat quality is a key indicator of meat performance in ruminants, and its mechanism and regulation are also key to ruminant research. Studies have shown that animal meat quality is related to the gut microbiota. In this study, RT-qPCR and 16S omics were employed to assess meat quality and intestinal microbiota. The objective was to investigate the influence of seasonal variations on the meat quality of Tibetan sheep ewes by examining the rumen microflora, meat quality attributes, and associated gene expression profiles over three distinct months: May, August, and December.The results indicate that muscle tenderness was significantly greater (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in the grass period than in the regrowth and dry grass periods and was highest in the longest dorsal muscle. The cooking rate of the