ABSTRACT. Intramuscular fat (IMF) content has been identified as an important factor in determining the quality of pork. Previous studies have suggested that IMF deposition may be associated with the presence of the halothane (HAL) gene. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the HAL gene on IMF deposition in crossbred pigs of commercial lines, which were killed at a slaughterhouse under official inspection. The genotype of the HAL gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. IMF was analyzed from longissimus dorsi samples. Among all animals analyzed, 42.36% were of the HalNN genotype and 57.64% were of the HalNn genotype. The average IMF content of all samples was 2.14%. Variation in IMF between genotypes was evaluated by analysis of variance. No significant difference in IMF deposition, which could be based on the presence of the halothane allele, was observed, at least in heterozygotes.

ABSTRACT. We evaluated and compared carcass traits and meat quality in Nellore cattle and F1 crosses between Nellore and Araguaia, where 17 individuals were from the Nellore group and 19 were ½ Nellore and ½ Araguaia crosses. All animals belonged to the same birth season and were raised in pasture systems under the same nutritional, environmental, and management conditions. When the animals reached slaughter weight, they were taken to an industrial slaughterhouse where food was not provided for 24 h (free access to water); they were then stunned, bled, the leather was removed, and they were eviscerated. The carcasses were weighed (hot weight), kept in chilled storage for approximately 24 h at 4°C, and weighed again to obtain the chilled carcass weight. Carcass yield, carcass length, carcass width, leg length, N.V. Costa et al. 5380©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (2): 5379-5389 (2015) thigh perimeter, loin eye area (LEA), retail cuts, cooling loss, pH, fat depth, marbling rate, intramuscular fat, color, and shear force were analyzed and sensory analysis of the meat was conducted. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for the following variables: slaughter weight, hot and chilled carcass weights, carcass and leg lengths, thigh perimeter, LEA, retail cuts, and lightness (L*), where the ½ Nellore ½ Araguaia individuals showed higher means for all of these traits, except leg length and L*. Therefore, crossbreeding between Nellore and Araguaia did not affect the meat's sensory characteristics, but contributed to an improvement in carcass traits, providing an alternative for farmers that aim for good meat quality, with a higher meat percentage.