Our RNA-seq results revealed that cold exposure significantly upregulated fatty acid biosynthesis related genes (ACSL1, FADS2, ELOVL1, SCD5) and downregulated the expression of mitochondrial beta-oxidation related genes (ACADL, ACADM, ACAT1, ACSL4) in skeletal muscle, which might directly explain the increased trend of IMF content and alterations of fatty acids in LDM of COLD pigs. Here, FADS2 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.