Probiotics Increase Intramuscular Fat and Improve the Composition of Fatty Acids in Sunit Sheep through the Adenosine 5′-Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Signaling Pathway

Abstract This experiment aims to investigate the impact of probiotic feed on growth performance, carcass traits, plasma lipid biochemical parameters, intramuscular fat and triglyceride content, fatty acid composition, mRNA expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism, and the activity of the enzyme in Sunit sheep. In this experiment, 12 of 96 randomly selected Sunit sheep were assigned to receive the basic diet or the basic diet supplemented with probiotics. The results showed that supplementation with probiotics significantly increased the loin eye area, and decreased plasma triglycerides and free fatty acids, increasing the content of intramuscular fat and triglycerides in the muscle and improving the composition of the fatty acids. The inclusion of probiotics in the diet reduced the expression of adenosine 5’-monophosphate-activated protein kinase alpha 2 (AMPKα2) mRNA and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B (CPT1B) mRNA, while increasing the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha (ACCα) mRNA, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) mRNA, fatty acid synthase mRNA, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 mRNA. The results of this study indicate that supplementation with probiotics can regulate fat deposition and improves the composition of fatty acids in Sunit sheep through the signaling pathways AMPK-ACC-CPT1B and AMPK-SREBP-1c. This regulatory mechanism leads to an increase in intramuscular fat content, a restructuring of muscle composition of the fatty acids, and an enhancement of the nutritional value of meat. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the food science of animal resources and provide valuable references for the production of meat of higher nutritional value.