Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci for meat quality and muscle metabolic traits in cattle

Abstract

A whole-genome scan was carried out in New Zealand and Australia to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for live animal and carcass composition traits and meat quality attributes in cattle. Backcross calves (385 heifers and 398 steers) were generated, with Jersey and Limousin backgrounds. The New Zealand cattle were reared and finished on pasture, whilst Australian cattle were reared on grass and finished on grain for at least 180 days. This paper reports on meat quality traits (tenderness measured as shear force at 4-5 ages on two muscles as well as associated traits of meat colour, pH and cooking loss) and a number of metabolic traits. For meat quality traits, 18 significant QTL (P < 0.05), located in nine linkage groups, were detected on a genome-wise basis, in combined-sire (seven QTL) or within-sire analyses (11 QTL). For metabolic traits, 11 significant QTL (P < 0.05), located in eight linkage groups, were detected on a genome-wise basis, in combined-sire (five QTL) or within-sire analyses (six QTL). BTA2 and BTA3 had QTL for both metabolic traits and meat quality traits. Six significant QTL for meat quality and metabolic traits were found at the proximal end of chromosome 2. BTA2 and BTA29 were the most common chromosomes harbouring QTL for meat quality traits; QTL for improved tenderness were associated with Limousin-derived and Jersey-derived alleles on these two chromosomes, respectively.

Network Analysis Reveals Putative Genes Affecting Meat Quality in Angus Cattle

“…Numerous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been performed in different Bos Taurus (Gutiérrez-Gil et al, 2008 ; Esmailizadeh et al, 2011 ; McClure et al, 2012 ; Allais et al, 2014 ; Xia et al, 2016 ), Bos Indicus (Tizioto et al, 2013 ; Magalhães et al, 2016 ) or crossbred beef cattle breeds (Bolormaa et al, 2011 ; Lu et al, 2013 ; Hulsman Hanna et al, 2014 ), and with different phenotypes describing meat quality, from carcass characteristics to specific measures of eating satisfaction. These studies contribute to our present understanding of the genetic regulation for many of these traits but they also highlight some of the challenges and limitations associated with GWA studies.…”

Modeling tenderness for genetic and quantitative trait loci analyses1

“…Casas et al (2000Casas et al ( , 2003, Gutiérrez-Gil et al (2008), and Esmailizadeh et al (2011) 54 cM, 59 cM, and 60 cM By analyzing the 2 traits in 2 different muscles, not only were new QTL discovered, but defining the relationships between these traits provides a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying tenderness. Aging rate was derived as a trait because it appears to be independent measure of overall shear force.…”

“…Quantitative trait loci or regions of the genome that affect tenderness have been identified in a variety of studies (Alexander et al, 2007;Casas et al, 2000Casas et al, , 2001Casas et al, , 2003Davis et al, 2007;Drinkwater et al, 2006;Esmailizadeh et al, 2011;Gutiérrez-Gil et al, 2008). In some cases, the gene variants that underlie these QTL have been discovered and include the µ-calpain (CAPN1) on BTA 29 and the calpastatin (CAST) genes (Casas et al, 2006), and earlier reports from the project herein include the myostatin (MSTN) gene variant F94L on BTA 2 (Morris et al, 2006;Esmailizadeh et al, 2008;Lines et al, 2009).…”

Mapeo fino de regiones genómicas portadoras de QTL con influencias sobre caracteres de producción de leche en el ganado ovino = Fine mapping of genomic regions underlying qtl for milk production traits in sheep

“…Este tipo de diseño experimental ha sido ampliamente utilizado en especies ganaderas como cerdos o pollos (Rothschild et al, 2007;Abasht et al, 2006). En el ganado vacuno se han utilizado cruces experimentales entre razas con aptitudes productivas divergentes (por ejemplo Esmailizadeh et al, 2011) o incluso entre especies distintas como son el ganado vacuno y el cebú (Kim et al, 2003). En el ganado ovino lechero, algunos de los estudios de búsqueda de QTL realizados se han basado en poblaciones experimentales.…”

“…-en ganado vacuno: caracteres lecheros (Khatkar et al, 2004), cárnicos (Esmailizadeh et al, 2011), reproductivos (Ashwell et al, 2004) o relacionados con la sanidad animal (Schulman et al, 2004) -en ganado ovino: caracteres lecheros (Gutiérrez-Gil et al, 2009), de producción de lana (Purvis y Franklin, 2004), reproductivos (Mateescu y Thonney, 2010b) o relacionados con la sanidad animal (Gutiérrez-Gil et al, 2007) -en ganado caprino: caracteres lecheros (Roldán et al, 2008) -en ganado porcino: caracteres de crecimiento y calidad de la carne (Liu et al, 2007), perfil de ácidos grasos en la carne (Clop et al, 2003) o reproductivos (Bidanel et al, 2008) -en avicultura: caracteres de producción de huevos (Schreiweis et al, 2006), carne o foie gras (Kileh-Wais et al, 2012).…”