Nutrigenomics of lipid supplementation in ruminants and pigs

Domestic animal species constitute an ideal model to investigate the genetic regulation of lipid metabolism phenotypes, such as fatness and intramuscular fat content and composition; because these traits are systematically recorded by the breeding industry and high throughput genotyping methods and genome sequences are readily available. At a metabolic level, pigs show a close physiological relatedness with humans and they also suffer from atherosclerotic vascular lesions and other obesity-related conditions when exposed to an excessive food intake. Ruminants constitute a completely different biological model because after food ingestion lipids are hydrolyzed, and unsaturated fatty acids are biohydrogenated, by bacteria residing in a specialized compartment denominated rumen. Such microbial transformations make ruminal and post-ruminal lipids different than those contained in the diet. In recent years, several nutrigenomics studies aiming at dissecting the complex interplay between genes and nutrients in ruminants and pigs have been published. These contributions have moved forward our understanding of the impact of diets supplemented with lipids on gene regulation and transcription at a genome-wide scale. This knowledge will be essential to design nutritional interventions aiming at improving food quality and healthiness.