Abstract
Considerable evidence has demonstrated that the -calpain (CAPN1) gene and its inhibitor calpastatin (CAST) gene are major factors affecting meat quality. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) has been widely used to improve beef quality traits. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of bovine CAPN1 and CAST genes using 367 animals representing the four main Chinese cattle breeds and to explore the effects of these SNPs on meat quality traits. Two SNPs within CAPN1 and one SNP in CAST were successfully identified in cattle. Genetic diversity analyses suggested that most SNPs in the four breeds exhibited a moderate genetic diversity. Moreover, associations between individual markers and meat quality traits were analyzed in Chinese Simmental cattle. The CAPN1 4558 A > G locus was found to be significantly associated with shear force value (SFV) and marbling score (BMS), and CAPN1 4684 C > T exerted a significant effect on SFV, while the CAST genotype was not significantly associated with any of the measured traits. SFV, commonly used to measure meat tenderness, represents an important quality trait as it contributes to the flavor of cooked meat. This work confirms the effect of CAPN1 on beef tenderness and lays an important foundation for future cattle breeding.
Highlights
Marbling and meat color are important meat quality traits that are usually used as an indicator of freshness and hygienic beef products (Castro et al, 2016)
Investigation of exon 1 to exon 6 of the bovine CAPN1 gene and exon 9 of the CAST gene identified three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and they were located in exon 2 and exon 4 of CAPN1 and exon 9 of CAST, respectively
At the CAPN1 4558 A > G locus, the A allele was predominant in all populations, with frequencies ranging from 0.664 to 0.889 within the four beef breeds (Sim, LQ, YNP, and BMY)
Summary
Marbling and meat color are important meat quality traits that are usually used as an indicator of freshness and hygienic beef products (Castro et al, 2016). Color, marbling, tenderness, and flavor contribute importantly to various aspects of beef quality. Consumer demand for high-quality meat is increasing, but the breeding and production of high-quality beef cattle cannot keep pace with it. Single nucleotide polymorphism markers that can be measured in one or more populations play a central role in modern genetic breeding (Davey et al, 2011; Coll et al, 2014; Melo et al, 2017; Renaville et al, 2015) and are important tools for beef cattle breeding (Li et al, 2013a; Sun et al, 2013; Buzanskas et al, 2017). Characterization of the genes affecting important economical traits and the availability of the bovine genome sequence have allowed researchers to identify the polymorphisms associated with phenotype
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