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. 2023 Sep 19;13(9):1023. doi: 10.3390/metabo13091023

Figure 2.

Figure 2

A working hypothesis of differential pathways in skeletal muscle of more feed efficient (HE; n = 8) compared with less feed efficient (LE; n = 8) cows based on highly expressed differential genes from RNA sequencing. Highly expressed differential genes (rose box; mean read count ≥ 200; p-value ≤ 0.05; fold change ≥1.5) that were downregulated (red arrow) or upregulated (blue arrow) are depicted. The MAP2K3 gene activates the p38 MAPK pathway, which can inhibit glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression, and the HK2 gene, which encodes hexokinase (HK) is required for the sequestration of glucose. FABP3 encodes fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3), which is required for fatty acid transport. SCD encodes stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and LPIN1 encodes LIPIN1, which are involved in fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis, respectively. PRKAG2 encodes a subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and PPARD encodes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARD), which are responsible for energy sensing and controlling fatty acid oxidation (FAO), respectively. The coordinated downregulation of these genes may be suggestive of reduced oxidation within skeletal muscle of HE cows.