Targeting China’ s pork market transformation and high-end sector bottlenecks, this study employed 6 WZS pigs (experimental group) and 6 DLY pigs (control group), aged 7–8 months. After slaughter, longissimus thoracis samples were collected for meat quality and molecular mechanism analysis using multiple technical methods. The results showed that compared with DLY pigs, (1) they exhibited distinct meat quality advantages, including higher muscle fiber density, a larger proportion of Type II A muscle fibers, and higher L* and a* values ( P < 0.01), as well as lower drip loss and shear force ( P < 0.05); (2) their pork contained more abundant sulfur-containing volatile substances, with superior umami, saltiness, and lower astringency. Omics analyses identified 12 DFMs, 361 DMs, and 2279 DEGs, these substances induce differences in meat quality by regulating relevant pathways. Integrated multi-omics found 46 core. regulators. WZS pigs excel in flavor and tenderness, and China’ s pork industry development. • The significance of exploring pork quality from multiple perspectives including slaughter data, meat quality traits, and muscle fibers. • The precise investigation of flavor substances in Wuzhishan pork using techniques such as electronic tongue, electronic nose, and HS-SPME-GC–MS. • Correlational analysis was performed between the DMs and DEGs screened by omics and meat quality traits, highlighting their significance in revealing the mechanism of meat quality formation. • The construction of a multi-level correlation system to fully present the formation pathway of pork quality.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.