• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.685-694
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• 2009

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the variation in ultimate pH of commercial populations of pure-breed (Landrace, Duroc and Yorkshire) pig's longissimus muscles and their effect on objective meat quality traits and sensory characteristics. Fifty boars were sampled from 184 pigs, which were reared at three breeding farms and slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. The selection was determined based on ultimate pH, and animals were segregated into three groups: low pH (pH $\leq$ 5.5, n=13), medium pH (pH 5.5 to 5.6, n=18) and high pH (pH $\geq$ 5.6, n=16). The breeds had no significant effects; however, pigs with a higher ultimate pH had significantly (p<0.05) higher intramuscular fat content, lower level of polyunsaturated fatty acids, lower level of lipid oxidation and higher eating quality compared to those with lower ultimate pH. As the ultimate pH increased, the relative proportion of C14:0, C16:0 and C18:1 increased while C18:2n6 and C20:4n6 decreased. The present study demonstrates that the economic value of pigs can be characterized by the ultimate pH and/or intramuscular fat content. However, these results do not necessarily indicate that a high ultimate pH directly corresponds to high intramuscular fat content and vice versa.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.138-143
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• 2008

A study was conducted to evaluate nutritional value for twenty-one pork muscles. Ten market-weight crossbred pigs (five gilts and five barrows) were used for evaluating proximate chemical composition, cholesterol, total iron, calorie and fatty acid contents. As preliminary analysis revealed no noticeable sex effect, pooled data from both sexes were used for the final analysis. M. rectus femoris had the highest moisture content, while m. latissimus dorsi was lowest in moisture content (p<0.05). Protein content was highest for m. longissimus dorsi and lowest for m. supraspinatus (p<0.05). The tensor fasciae and latissimus dorsi muscles contained the highest intramuscular fat (p<0.05), while rectus femoris, adductor and vastus lateralis were lowest in intramuscular fat content. When simple correlations between chemical values were computed for the pooled dataset from all muscles, intramuscular fat had significant (p<0.05) negative linear relationships with moisture (r = -0.85) and protein (r = -0.51) contents. Calorie levels were not significantly affected by fat content, while rectus femoris and latissimus dorsi muscles showed lowest and highest calorie contents, respectively (p<0.05). Polyunsaturated fatty acid content was highest (p<0.05) for both m. adductor and m. rectus femoris, while it was lowest for m. longissimus dorsi. Collectively, the current study identified a large amount of variation in nutritional characteristics between pork muscles, and the data can be used for the development of muscle-specific strategies to improve eating quality of meats and meat products.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2005

Intramuscular fat content(lMF) is considered as one of major economic traits in the pig breeding and industry. In general, high IMF results in better meat quality. Several approaches to detect quantitative trait 10ci( QTL) for IMF indicated a strong possibility of the existence of a QTL related to IMF between the microsatellite marker SW71 and SW1881 on SSC6q. Porcine FABP3 has been considered as a candidate gene affecting IMF due to its physiological roles and position on the pig genome. Two novel mutations, g.-114T> C and g.-158T>G were detected by duplicate sequencing of the porcine FABP3 promoter region. These two mutations were identified as absolute linkage disequilibrium. The g.-158T> G mutation was used for investigating relationships with growth and fat deposition traits. The GG genotype of the g.-158T> G polymorphism showed highly negative effects(P< 0.01) on body weights at 3 and 12 weeks of age, and a positive effect(P< 0.05) on IMF. However, backfat thickness(BF) and carcass fat(CF) content were not significantly associated with the genotype. The result indicates that the novel mutations, identified in this study, could be utilized as possible genetic markers to improve IMF, independent with BF.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.115-125
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• 2022

Objective: Intramuscular fat (IMF) is a critical economic indicator of pork quality. Studies on IMF among different pig breeds have been performed via high-throughput sequencing, but comparisons within the same pig breed remain unreported. Methods: This study was performed to explore the gene profile and identify candidate long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) and mRNAs associated with IMF deposition among Laiwu pigs with different IMF contents. Based on the longissimus dorsi muscle IMF content, eight pigs from the same breed and management were selected and divided into two groups: a high IMF (>12%, H) and low IMF group (<5%, L). Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed to explore the differentially expressed (DE) genes between these two groups. Results: The IMF content varied greatly among Laiwu pig individuals (2.17% to 13.93%). Seventeen DE lncRNAs (11 upregulated and 6 downregulated) and 180 mRNAs (112 upregulated and 68 downregulated) were found. Gene Ontology analysis indicated that the following biological processes played an important role in IMF deposition: fatty acid and lipid biosynthetic processes; the extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascade; and white fat cell differentiation. In addition, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B, and mammalian target of rapamycin pathways were enriched in the pathway analysis. Intersection analysis of the target genes of DE lncRNAs and mRNAs revealed seven candidate genes associated with IMF accumulation. Five DE lncRNAs and 20 DE mRNAs based on the pig quantitative trait locus database were identified and shown to be related to fat deposition. The expression of five DE lncRNAs and mRNAs was verified by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results of qRT-PCR and RNA-sequencing were consistent. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that the different IMF contents among pig individuals may be due to the DE lncRNAs and mRNAs associated with lipid droplets and fat deposition.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.757-764
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• 2007

Marbling of cattle meat is dependent on the coordinated expression of multiple genes. Cattle dramatically increase their intramuscular fat content in the longissimus dorsi muscle between 12 and 27 months of age. We used the annealing control primer (ACP)-differential display RT-PCR method to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that may participate in the development of intramuscular fat between early (12 months old) and late fattening stages (27 months old). Using 20 arbitrary ACP primers, we identified and sequenced 14 DEGs. BLAST searches revealed that expression of the MDH, PI4-K, ferritin, ICER, NID-2, WDNMI, telethonin, filamin, and desmin (DES) genes increased while that of GAPD, COP VII, ACTA1, CamK II, and nebulin decreased during the late fattening stage. The results of functional categorization using the Gene Ontology database for 14 known genes indicated that MDH, GAPD, and COP VII are involved in metabolic pathways such as glycolysis and the TCA cycle, whereas telethonin, filamin, nebulin, desmin, and ACTA1 contribute to the muscle contractile apparatus, and PI4-K, CamK II, and ICER have roles in signal transduction pathways regulated by growth factor or hormones. The final three genes, NID-2, WDNMI, and ferritin, are involved in iron transport and extracellular protein inhibition. The expression patterns were confirmed for seven genes (MDH, PI4-K, ferritin, ICER, nebulin, WDNMI, and telethonin) using real-time PCR. We found that the novel transcription repressor ICER gene was highly expressed in the late fattening stage and during bovine preadipocyte differentiation. This information may be helpful in selecting candidate genes that participate in intramuscular fat development in cattle.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.709-718
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• 2016

This review addresses the characteristics and health benefit of highly marbled Wagyu and Hanwoo beef. Marbling of Wagyu and Hanwoo beef has been increased in Japan and Korea to meet domestic consumer preferences. Wagyu and Hanwoo cattle have high potential of accumulating intramuscular fat (IMF) and producing highly marbled beef. The IMF content varies depending on the feeding of time, finishing diet, and breed type. IMF increases when feeding time is increased. The rate of IMF increase in grain-fed cattle is faster than that in pasture-fed cattle. Fatty acid composition are also different depending on breeds. Highly marbled Wagyu and Hanwoo beef have higher proportions of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) due to higher concentrations of oleic acid. MUFAs have little effect on total cholesterol. They are heart-healthy dietary fat because they can lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. Clinical trials have indicated that highly marbled beef does not increase LDL-cholesterol. This review also emphasizes that high oleic acid beef such as Wagyu and Hanwoo beef might be able to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.1003-1010
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• 2003

The effects of different rumen protected forms, oleamide, Ca oleate, of dietary oleic acid on the carcass quality and fatty acid composition in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat tissues of Hanwoo steer were examined. Sixty, 25 month old Hanwoo steers divided into three groups were fed no supplement (Control), 2% of oleamide (Oleamide) or Ca-oleate (Ca-Oleate) in their diet for 45 or 90 days. Disappearance rates of oleic acid supplements in digestive tracts (Rumen bypass, abomasal and intestinal disappearance rate) were 48.5, 68.4 for oleamide and Ca oleate, respectively. Both oleic acid supplements affected feed intake, growth rate, cold carcass weight and carcass fatness. Live weight gain, carcass weight, backfat thickness and marbling score were higher in the oleic acid supplemented steers compared with those from the control. Oleic acid supplements increased marbling score and ether extract in Hanwoo steer m. logissi thoracicmus. Rumen protected oleic acid increased not only the level of oleic acid but also polyunsaturated fatty acids in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat tissue. Total saturated fatty acid contents in both fat tissues were decreased whereas total unsaturated fatty acid content was increased compared with those from control. Linoleic acid, linolenic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents were significantly higher in Ca oleate than any other steers. Lipid metabolites in blood were increased in rumen protected oleic acid treatments. HDL content in blood was increased in Ca-oleate supplemented steers whereas LDL was decreased compared with control. The changes of fatty acid compositions in the rumen protected oleic acid supplemented steers suggest that the oleic acid and unsaturated fatty acid were protected from rumen biohydrogenation and can be deposited in the fat tissues.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1193-1201
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• 2021

Objective: According to market demand, meat duck breeding mainly includes 2 breeding directions: lean Pekin duck (LPD) and fat Pekin duck (FPD). The aim of the present study was to compare carcass and meat quality traits between 2 strains, and to provide basic data for guidelines of processing and meat quality improvement. Methods: A total of 62 female Pekin ducks (32 LPDs and 30 FPDs) were slaughtered at the age of 42 days. The live body weight and carcass traits were measured and calculated. Physical properties of breast muscle were determined by texture analyzer and muscle fibers were measured by paraffin sections. The content of inosine monophosphate (IMP), intramuscular fat (IMF) and fatty acids composition were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, Soxhlet extraction method and automated gas chromatography respectively. Results: The results showed that the bodyweight of LPDs was higher than that of FPDs. FPDs were significantly higher than LPDs in subcutaneous fat thickness, subcutaneous fat weight, subcutaneous fat percentage, abdominal fat percentage and abdominal fat shear force (p<0.01). LPDs were significantly higher than FPDs in breast muscle thickness, breast muscle weight, breast muscle rate and breast muscle shear force (p<0.01). The muscle fiber average area and fiber diameter of LPDs were significantly higher than those of FPDs (p<0.01). The muscle fiber density of LPDs was significantly lower than that of FPDs (p<0.01). The IMF of LPDs in the breast muscle was significantly higher than that in the FPDs (p<0.01). There was no significant difference between the 2 strains in IMP content (p>0.05). The polyunsaturated fatty acid content of LPDs was significantly higher than that of FPDs (p<0.01), and FPDs had higher saturated fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acid levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: Long-term breeding work resulted in vast differences between the two strains Pekin ducks. This study provides a reference for differences between LPD and FPD that manifest as a result of long-term selection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1181-1187
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• 2016

The objective of the study was to evaluate fattening performance, carcass value and meat quality in pigs of Prestice Black-Pied breed in relation to slaughter weight (SW) and gender (barrows and gilts, resp.). Pigs were divided into weight categories: SW1 (75 to 99.9 kg), SW2 (100 to 109.9 kg) and SW3 (110 to 130 kg) and all individual traits were analyzed by the general linear model procedure (SAS 9.3). Average SW of each weight group was as follows: SW1 94.2 kg, SW2 105.8 kg, and SW3 115.2 kg. Differences among average backfat thickness of 36.07 mm in SW1, 40.16 mm in SW2, and 43.21 mm in SW3 were significant (p<0.01). Lean meat content was 48.94% (SW1), 48.78% (SW2), and 48.76% (SW3). Pigs were slaughtered at average weight of 105.7 kg for barrows and 104.4 kg for gilts. Average backfat thickness for barrows was 40.90 mm and 38.72 mm for gilts (significant difference p<0.05). Lean meat content was 48.75% in barrows and 48.91% in gilts. The values of pH45, characterizing the meat of very good quality. The loin in SW3 was darker than the muscles of SW1 and SW2. Drip loss was the lowest in SW1 (1.96%), compared to the highest drip loss in SW3 (2.59%). Content of intramuscular fat was 2.68% in SW3, 2.79% in SW2, and SW1 had the lowest content 2.47%. The values of pH45, colour lightness and drip loss were similar in both genders. However barrows had higher intramuscular fat content by 0.31% than gilts (p<0.05).

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.45-58
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• 2021

This study investigated the dietary effect of total mixed ration (TMR) based on high roughage content on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Hanwoo steers. Twenty-four Hanwoo steers (average body weight, 195.3±4.7 kg; age, 8.5 mon) were randomly allocated to three experimental groups according to forage and concentrate ratio (DM basis): 25:75 (control), 50:50 (T50), and 70:30 (T70). Productivity in the fattening period and final body weight were significantly higher in the control. Average daily gain and feed conversion ratio were the same among treatments. Serum parameters, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, and total protein were higher in the control. Carcass weight was comparable in the control and T50 but feeding more roughage was significantly correlated with a higher intramuscular fat. Shear strength and drip loss were higher while n-6/n-3 was lower in T70 compared to the other groups. However, meat color was not significantly different among treatments. In terms of free amino acid contents, glutamic acid and glycine were higher in the control than T50 and T70. Overall, feeding Hanwoo steers with high forage content TMR had the lowest n-6/n-3 ratio of fatty acid content but highest intramuscular fat, shear strength, and drip loss. High forage content TMR is the best feed for Hanwoo steers that gives more benefits for human health and consumption but also provides the best meat grade and quality, which is important in the beef market in Korea.