Fat deposition and lipid-related indices. a–b Means within a row with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05). CON, no fermented cottonseed meal in diet; FCSM, 6% fermented cottonseed meal in diet. (a) Abdominal fat (% of eviscerated weight) and subcutaneous fat thickness (cm). (b) Adipocyte surface was demonstrated using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining (Magnification = 100×; scale bar, 200 μm). (c) Mean abdominal fat size was estimated using the Image Pro-Plus software. (d) Lipid-related gene expression in the liver (FAS, fatty acid synthase; ACC, acetyl CoA carboxylase; SREBP1c, sterol-regulatory element-binding protein 1c; CPT, carnitine palmitoyltransferase; PPAR-α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α; LPL, lipoprotein lipase). (e) Lipid-related gene expression in the abdominal fat tissue (FAS, fatty acid synthase; ACC, acetyl CoA carboxylase; SREBP1c, sterol-regulatory element-binding protein 1c; HSL, hormone-sensitive lipase; PPAR-γ, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ; LPL, lipoprotein lipase). Error bars represent SEM.