Molecules (Feb 2024)
miRNAs as Biomolecular Markers for Food Safety, Quality, and Traceability in Poultry Meat—A Preliminary Study
Abstract
In this study, the expression and abundance of two candidate chicken (Gallus gallus; gga) microRNAs (miRNAs, miR), gga-miR-21-5p (miR-21) and gga-miR-126-5p (miR-126), have been analyzed in order to identify biomarkers for the traceability and quality of poultry meat. Two breeds of broiler chickens were tested: the most common Ross308 (fast-growing) and the high-quality Ranger Gold (slow-growing). A preliminary analysis of the two miRNAs expressions was conducted across various tissues (liver, lung, spleen, skeletal muscle, and kidney), and the three tissues (lung, spleen, and muscle) with a higher expression were chosen for further analysis. Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), the expression of miRNAs in the three tissues of a total of thirteen animals was determined. The results indicate that miR-126 could be a promising biomarker for the lung tissue in the Ranger Gold (RG) breed (p p < 0.05).
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