Japanese quail meat quality: Characteristics, heritabilities, and genetic correlations with some slaughter traits

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic parameters of several breast meat quality traits and their genetic relationships with some slaughter traits [BW, breast yield (BRY), and abdominal fat yield (AFY)]. In total, 1,093 pedigreed quail were slaughtered at 35 d of age to measure BRY, AFY, and breast meat quality traits [ultimate pH (pHU), Commission Internationale d'Eclairage color parameters (L*, lightness; a*, redness; and b*, yellowness), thawing and cooking loss (TL and CL, respectively), and Warner-Bratzler shear value (WB)]. The average pHU, L*, a*, and b* were determined to be 5.94, 43.09, 19.24, and 7.74, respectively. In addition, a very high WB average (7.75 kg) indicated the firmness of breast meat. High heritabilities were estimated for BW, BRY, and AFY (0.51, 0.49, and 0.35). Genetic correlations of BW between BRY and AFY were found to be high (0.32 and 0.58). On the other hand, the moderate negative relationship between BRY and AFY (-0.24) implies that selection for breast yield should not increase abdominal fat. The pHU was found to be the most heritable trait (0.64), whereas the other meat quality traits showed heritabilities in the range of 0.39 to 0.48. Contrary to chickens, the genetic correlation between pHU and L* was low. The pHU exhibited a negative and high correlation with BW and AFY, whereas L* showed a positive but smaller relationship with these traits. Moreover, pHU exhibited high negative correlations (-0.43 and -0.62) with TL and WB, whereas L* showed a moderate relationship (0.24) with CL. This genetic study confirmed that the multi-trait selection could be used to improve meat quality traits. Further, the ultimate pH of breast meat is a relevant selection criterion due to its strong relationships with either water-holding capacity and texture or low abdominal fatness.

Growth performance, meat quality traits, and genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci in 3 generations of Japanese quail populations (Coturnix japonica)

“…However, contradictory data regarding pH exist. Narinc et al (2013) and Genchev et al (2008) reported higher pH values (5.94 and 6.17, respectively). Genchev et al (2008) suggest that the main reason behind the high pH values found in quail breast muscle were due to the morphology of muscle, which is mostly composed by aerobic-red muscle fibers.…”

Genetic parameter estimates of growth curve and reproduction traits in Japanese quail

“…Genetic parameters for early egg production and some reproductive traits were estimated by Strong et al (1978) and Mielenz et al (2006). only a few studies have presented the genetic parameters for feed efficiency, growth curve parameters, and meat quality traits in Japanese quail (Akbas and Yaylak, 2000;Aggrey et al, 2003;Aksit et al, 2003;Narinc et al, 2010a;Narinc et al, 2013).…”

Comparison of Muscle Fiber and Meat Quality Characteristics in Different Japanese Quail Lines

“…The quail is used as an animal growth model for the muscle development because of its rapid generation time (Choi et al, 2014a, b), and also is a good source for meat products, especially in the Asian market, even though quail egg is more popular compared to meat (Narinc et al, 2013). …”

“…There are many studies investigating how genetic selection influences muscle fiber and meat quality characteristics in chicken and turkey (Fowler et al, 1980; Cherel et al, 1994; Remignon et al, 1995; Velleman et al, 2002; 2003). However, there are only a few studies conducted on meat quality characteristics between the Japanese quail lines, even though there are many reports regarding the effects of genetic selection on ultimate muscle mass and fiber characteristics (Narinc et al, 2013; Choi et al, 2014a; Shin et al, 2015). Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the characteristics of the pectoralis major muscle, muscle fiber, and meat quality characteristics between the HW and RBC quail lines to better understand the effects of selection for production efficiency of quail.…”