Integrating Carcass Traits, Meat Quality, Muscle Histological, Volatile and Untargeted Lipidomic Profiles to Characterize Phenotypic and Omic Traits of Jinhua III × Lvjiahei Crossbreds

Jinhua III (JH III) pigs possess excellent meat quality and flavor but slow growth and low carcass yield, whereas Lvjiahei pigs achieve good growth performance together with favorable meat flavor, suggesting great potential for hybridization. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of Jinhua III × Lvjiahei (J × L) crossbred pigs as commercial pigs. This study showed that J × L crossbreds (n = 13) had better production performance than JH III pigs (n = 14). The crossbreds reached 70.56 kg body weight at 189.5 days, with a dressing percentage of 70.97% (8.62% higher) and a backfat thickness of 2.86 cm (21.21% lower). J × L crossbreds also exhibited a finer fiber diameter (47.19 µm), higher MyHC I expression level (12.33%), elevated collagen content (3.92 mg/g), and lower L* value and lower pressure loss. They were characterized by nutty and oily flavor. Their levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and phosphatidylcholine were intermediate between their parental lines. These findings reflect associations observed under the specific experimental conditions of this study: J × L crossbreds can integrate parental merits and may show promising commercial potential for pork production.