Abstract
BackgroundUmami is a Japanese term for the fifth basic taste and is an important sensory property of beef palatability. Inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) contributes to umami taste in beef. Thus, the overall change in concentration of IMP and its degradation products can potentially affect the beef palatability. In this study, we investigated the genetic architecture of IMP and its degradation products in Japanese Black beef. First, we performed genome-wide association study (GWAS), candidate gene analysis, and functional analysis to detect the causal variants that affect IMP, inosine, and hypoxanthine. Second, we evaluated the allele frequencies in the different breeds, the contribution of genetic variance, and the effect on other economical traits using the detected variants.ResultsA total of 574 Japanese Black cattle were genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip and were then used for GWAS. The results of GWAS showed that the genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on BTA9 were detected for IMP, inosine, and hypoxanthine. The ecto-5′-nucleotidase (NT5E) gene, which encodes the enzyme NT5E for the extracellular degradation of IMP to inosine, was located near the significant region on BTA9. The results of candidate gene analysis and functional analysis showed that two non-synonymous SNPs (c.1318C > T and c.1475 T > A) in NT5E affected the amount of IMP and its degradation products in beef by regulating the enzymatic activity of NT5E. The Q haplotype showed a positive effect on IMP and a negative effect on the enzymatic activity of NT5E in IMP degradation. The two SNPs were under perfect linkage disequilibrium in five different breeds, and different haplotype frequencies were seen among breeds. The two SNPs contribute to about half of the total genetic variance in IMP, and the results of genetic relationship between IMP and its degradation products showed that NT5E affected the overall concentration balance of IMP and its degradation products. In addition, the SNPs in NT5E did not have an unfavorable effect on the other economical traits.ConclusionBased on all the above findings taken together, two non-synonymous SNPs in NT5E would be useful for improving IMP and its degradation products by marker-assisted selection in Japanese Black cattle.
Highlights
Umami is a Japanese term for the fifth basic taste and is an important sensory property of beef palatability
genome-wide association study (GWAS) A total of 574 Japanese Black cattle with records reported by Sakuma et al [8] and BovineSNP50 genotypes reported by Sasago et al [16] were used
Zhang et al [24] performed candidate gene analysis and showed the association between calcification of joints and arteries and another non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NT5E (p.Gly454Arg), which was far away from the binding site of substrate adenosine monophosphate (AMP) but next to the lacked locus of shorter NT5E isoform known as CD73S [25].These results indicated that the mutations in NT5E would affect the enzymatic activity of NT5E and were associated with these traits
Summary
Umami is a Japanese term for the fifth basic taste and is an important sensory property of beef palatability. Umami is a Japanese term for the fifth basic taste and is an important sensory property of foods, along with many other characteristics, including texture and flavor [3]. The degradation products of IMP (inosine and hypoxanthine) are important indicators of beef palatability. A genetic understanding of IMP and its degradation products is important in beef cattle breeding to enhance the meat quality. The heritability estimates of glutamic acid and aspartic acid in beef were low (0.17 and 0.00, respectively) but those of IMP, inosine, and hypoxanthine were low to moderate (0.48, 0.33, and 0.23, respectively) in Japanese Black cattle population [8]
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