• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.873-883
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• 2017

Variations in the definition of poultry meat quality exist because the quality traits are not solely based on intrinsic and extrinsic factors but also consumers' preference. Appearance quality traits (AQT), eating quality traits (EQT), and reliance quality traits (RQT) are the major factors focused by the consumer before buying good quality of poultry meat. AQT and EQT of poultry meat are controlled by physical and biochemical characteristics of muscle fibers which can be categorized into a total number of fibers (TNF), cross-sectional area of fibers (CSAF), and fiber type composition (FTC). In poultry meat, it has been shown that muscle fiber properties play a key role in meat quality because numerous studies have reported the relationships between quality traits and fiber characteristics. Despite intensive research has been carried out to manipulate the muscle fiber to improve poultry meat quality, demand in a rapid growth of poultry muscle has correlated to the deterioration in the meat quality. The present paper reviews the definition of poultry meat quality, meat quality traits, and variations of meat quality. Also, this review presents recent knowledge underlying the relationship between poultry meat quality traits and muscle fiber characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.407-420
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• 2022

Chicken dominates meat consumption because it is low in fat and high in protein and has less or no religious and cultural barriers. Recently, meat quality traits have become the focus of the poultry industry more than ever. Currently, poultry farming is focusing on meat quality to satisfy meat consumer preferences, which are mostly based on high-quality proteins and a low proportion of saturated fatty acids. Meat quality traits are polygenic traits controlled by many genes. Thus, it is difficult to improve these traits using the conventional selection method because of their low to moderate heritability. These traits include pH, colour, drop loss, tenderness, intramuscular fat (IMF), water-holding capacity, flavour, and many others. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are an efficient genomic tool that identifies the genomic regions and potential candidate genes related to meat quality traits. Due to their impact on the economy, meat quality traits are used as selection criteria in breeding programs. Various genes and markers related to meat quality traits in chickens have been identified. In chickens, GWAS have been successfully done for intramuscular fat (IMF) content, ultimate pH (pHu) and meat and skin colour. Moreover, GWAS have identified 7, 4, 4 and 6 potential candidate genes for IMF, pHu, meat colour and skin colour, respectively. Therefore, the current review summarizes the significant genes identified by genome-wide association studies for meat quality traits in chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1388-1393
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• 2015

Genetic parameters of Berkshire pigs for reproduction, carcass and meat quality traits were estimated using the records from a breeding farm in Korea. For reproduction traits, 2,457 records of the total number of piglets born (TNB) and the number of piglets born alive (NBA) from 781 sows and 53 sires were used. For two carcass traits which are carcass weight (CW) and backfat thickness (BF) and for 10 meat quality traits which are pH value after 45 minutes (pH45m), pH value after 24 hours (pH24h), lightness in meat color (LMC), redness in meat color (RMC), yellowness in meat color (YMC), moisture holding capacity (MHC), drip loss (DL), cooking loss (CL), fat content (FC), and shear force value (SH), 1,942 pig records were used to estimate genetic parameters. The genetic parameters for each trait were estimated using VCE program with animal model. Heritability estimates for reproduction traits TNB and NBA were 0.07 and 0.06, respectively, for carcass traits CW and BF were 0.37 and 0.57, respectively and for meat traits pH45m, pH24h, LMC, RMC, YMC, MHC, DL, CL, FC, and SH were 0.48, 0.15, 0.19, 0.36, 0.28, 0.21, 0.33, 0.45, 0.43, and 0.39, respectively. The estimate for genetic correlation coefficient between CW and BF was 0.27. The Genetic correlation between pH24h and meat color traits were in the range of -0.51 to -0.33 and between pH24h and DL and SH were -0.41 and -0.32, respectively. The estimates for genetic correlation coefficients between reproductive and meat quality traits were very low or zero. However, the estimates for genetic correlation coefficients between reproductive traits and drip and cooking loss were in the range of 0.12 to 0.17 and -0.14 to -0.12, respectively. As the estimated heritability of meat quality traits showed medium to high heritability, these traits may be applicable for the genetic improvement by continuous measurement. However, since some of the meat quality traits showed negative genetic correlations with carcass traits, an appropriate breeding scheme is required that carefully considers the complexity of genetic parameters and applicability of data.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.303-309
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• 2014

The increasing importance of meat quality has implications for animal breeding programs. Research has revealed much about the genetic background of pigs, and many studies have revealed the importance of various genetic factors. Since meat quality is a complex trait which is affected by many factors, consideration of the overall phenotype is very useful to study meat quality. For integrating the phenotypes, we used principle component analysis (PCA). The significant SNPs refer to results of the GRAMMAR method against PC1, PC2 and PC3 of 14 meat quality traits of 181 Duroc pigs. The Genome-wide association study (GWAS) found 26 potential SNPs affecting various meat quality traits. The loci identified are located in or near 23 genes. The SNPs associated with meat quality are in or near five genes (ANK1, BMP6, SHH, PIP4K2A, and FOXN2) and have been reported previously. Twenty-five of the significant SNPs also located in meat quality-related QTL regions, these result supported the QTL effect indirectly. Each single gene typically affects multiple traits. Therefore, it is a useful approach to use integrated traits for the various traits at the same time. This innovative approach using integrated traits could be applied on other GWAS of complex-traits including meat-quality, and the results will contribute to improving meat-quality of pork.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.1061-1065
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• 2015

Data collected from 690 purebred Duroc pigs from 2009 to 2012 were used to estimate the heritability, and genetic and phenotypic correlations between production and meat quality traits. Variance components were obtained through the restricted maximum likelihood procedure using Wombat and SAS version 9.0. Animals were raised under the same management in five different breeding farms. The average daily gain, loin muscle area (LMA), backfat thickness (BF), and lean percent (LP) were measured as production traits. Meat quality traits included pH, cooking loss, lightness ($L^*$), redness ($a^*$), yellowness ($b^*$), marbling score (MS), moisture content (MC), water holding capacity (WHC), and shear force. The results showed that the heritability estimates for meat quality traits varied largely from 0.19 to 0.79. Production traits were moderate to highly heritable from 0.41 to 0.73. Genotypically, the BF was positively correlated (p<0.05) with MC (0.786), WHC (0.904), and pH (0.328) but negatively correlated with shear force (-0.533). The results of genetic correlations indicated that selection for less BF could decrease pH, moisture content, and WHC and increase the shear force of meat. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was recorded between average daily gain and WHC, which indicates pork from faster-growing animals has higher WHC. Furthermore, selection for larger LMA and LP could increase MS and lightness color of meat. The meat quality and production traits could be improved simultaneously if desired. Hence, to avoid further deterioration of pork characteristics, appropriate selection of traits should be considered.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.387-397
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• 2024

Pork quality is determined by several attributes, among which odor and taste are the utmost significant. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the effects of boar odor hormone concentration on the quality traits and sensory acceptability of pork. A total twenty-six (26) non-castrated 3-way crossbred (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) pigs were selected with an average body weight (ABW) 115.6 kg before to slaughter. The three treatment groups (low, medium and high) were divided according to the androstenone concentration. In experiment 1, for meat quality traits carcass was selected based on androstenone concentration: low (LC, 0.64-0.69 ㎍/g, n = 9), medium (MC, 0.70-0.99 ㎍/g, n = 7) and high (HC, 1.00-1.69 ㎍/g, n = 10). In experiment 2, for sensory evaluation carcasses were also selected based on the abovementioned conditions. Results revealed that androstenone concentration not effect on proximate components, meat quality traits and fatty acids except palmitoleic acid. Sensory evaluation data showed that boar taint and meat boar taint were significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner from low to high, whereas, gravy and meat flavor preference were significantly increased in LC group than HC group. In addition, correlation analysis showed that boar taint and meat boar taint were positively, and gravy and meat flavor preference were negatively correlated with boar taint hormones. In essence, our findings indicate that androstenone concentration had no effect on meat qualities, but a high concentration of androstenone had a negative effect on the sensory characteristics in uncastrated pigs.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.158-166
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• 2023

Background: Copy number variation (CNV) can be identified using next-generation sequencing and microarray technologies, the research on the analysis of its association with meat traits in livestock breeding has significantly increased in recent years. Hanwoo is an inherent species raised in the Republic of Korea. It is now considered one of the most economically important species and a major food source mainly used for meat (Hanwoo beef). Methods: In this study, CNVs and the relationship between the obtained CNV regions (CNVRs) can be identified in the Hanwoo steer samples (n = 473) using Illumina Hanwoo SNP 50K bead chip and bioinformatic tools, which were used to locate the required data and meat traits were investigated. The PennCNV software was used for the identification of CNVs, followed by the use of the CNV Ruler software for locating the different CNVRs. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis was performed. Results: We found a total of 2,575 autosomal CNVs (933 losses, 1,642 gains) and 416 CNVRs (289 gains, 111 losses, and 16 mixed), which were established with ranged in size from 2,183 bp to 983,333 bp and 10,004 bp to 381,836 bp, respectively. Upon analyzing the restriction of minor alleles frequency > 0.05 for meat traits association, 6 CNVRs in the carcass weight, 2 CNVRs in the marbling score, 3 CNVRs in the backfat thickness, and 2 CNVRs in the longissimus muscle area were related to the meat traits. In addition, we identified an overlap of 347 CNVRs. Moreover, 3 CNVRs were determined to have a gene that affects meat quality. Conclusions: Our results confirmed the relationship between Hanwoo CNVR and meat traits, and the possibility of overlapping candidate genes, annotations, and quantitative trait loci that results depended on to contribute to the greater understanding of CNVs in Hanwoo and its role in genetic variation among cattle livestock.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1425-1438
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• 2021

Maintaining a high level of beef consumption requires paying attention not only to quantitative traits but also to the quality and dietary properties of meat. Growing consumer demands do not leave producers many options for how animals are selected for breeding and animal keeping. Meat and carcass fatness quality traits, which are influenced by multiple genes, are economically important in beef cattle breeding programs. The recent availability of genome sequencing methods and many previously identified molecular markers offer new opportunities for animal breeding, including the use of molecular information in selection programs. Many gene polymorphisms have thus far been analyzed and evaluated as potential candidates for molecular markers of meat quality traits. Knowledge of these markers can be further applied to breeding programs through marker-assisted selection. In this literature review, we discuss the most promising and well-described candidates and their associations with selected beef production traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

Leptin is the hormone product of the obese gene and is synthesized and secreted predominantly by white adipocytes and relates to the feedback system that regulates long-term body fat weight and composition. Therefore, the leptin gene could be an excellent candidate gene controlling fat deposition, carcass traits and meat quality in beef cattle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of 3 SNPs (A1127T and C1180T in exon 2 and C3100T in exon 3) in the bovine leptin gene with carcass and meat quality traits in Korean cattle. The C1180T SNP was associated with backfat thickness (BF) and marbling score (MS) (p<0.05). Animals with the genotype CC had higher BF than animals with TT genotype and higher MS compared with CT and TT genotypes. No significant associations were observed between the C3100T SNP and any carcass and meat quality traits analyzed. The effect of the A1127T SNP was not analyzed because the TT genotype was not detected and the AT genotype showed only 1.0% frequency. These results suggest that the C1180T SNP of the leptin gene may be useful as a genetic marker for carcass and meat quality traits in Korean cattle.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.1194-1204
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• 2023

Meat quality comprises a set of key traits such as pH, meat color, water-holding capacity, tenderness and marbling. These traits are complex because they are affected by multiple genetic and environmental factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular genetic basis underlying nine meat quality-related traits in a Yorkshire pig population using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and subsequent biological pathway analysis. In total, 45,926 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers from 543 pigs were selected for the GWAS after quality control. Data were analyzed using a genome-wide efficient mixed model association (GEMMA) method. This linear mixed model-based approach identified two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for meat color (b^*) on chromosome 2 (SSC2) and one QTL for shear force on chromosome 8 (SSC8). These QTLs acted additively on the two phenotypes and explained 3.92%-4.57% of the phenotypic variance of the traits of interest. The genes encoding HAUS8 on SSC2 and an lncRNA on SSC8 were identified as positional candidate genes for these QTLs. The results of the biological pathway analysis revealed that positional candidate genes for meat color (b^*) were enriched in pathways related to muscle development, muscle growth, intramuscular adipocyte differentiation, and lipid accumulation in muscle, whereas positional candidate genes for shear force were overrepresented in pathways related to cell growth, cell differentiation, and fatty acids synthesis. Further verification of these identified SNPs and genes in other independent populations could provide valuable information for understanding the variations in pork quality-related traits.