Machine learning and experiment reveals gut microbial predictors of functional fatty acids in pork

High-quality pork is rich in functional fatty acids such as α-linolenic (ALA), γ-linolenic acid (GLA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). While gut microbiota influence muscle fatty acid deposition, its complexity remains elusive. Using machine learning, we analyzed data from 291 pigs to identify microbial predictors of muscle fatty acids linked to meat quality. The best-performing models revealed that Escherichia was negatively associated with muscle fatty acid traits, whereas Bradyrhizobium and Lachnoclostridium were positively associated with the deposition of several functional fatty acids, particularly GLA, DHA, and EPA. Furthermore, Lachnoclostridium edouardi (LE) was selected for murine experiments, which revealed that LE administration markedly increased the levels of TFA, unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in mouse muscle tissue. Collectively, these findings establish a cross-study, interpretable framework for prioritizing gut microbial candidates associated with health-promoting fatty acid deposition in pork. • Microbial α diversity exhibited positive predictive power for muscle PUFAs. • A core set of 11 genera from the pig gut microbe correlated with muscle fatty acids. • Escherichia was negatively associated with the levels of most fatty acids. • Lachnoclostridium were positive correlations of TFA and PUFA. • Lachnoclostridium edouardi administration markedly increased PUFA in muscle.