Abstract
Beef is one of the leading sources of protein, B vitamins, iron, and zinc in human food. Beef palatability is based on three general criteria: tenderness, juiciness, and flavor, of which tenderness is thought to be the most important factor. In this study, we found that beef tenderness, measured by the Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), was dramatically increased by acute stress. Microarray analysis and qPCR identified a variety of genes that were differentially expressed. Pathway analysis showed that these genes were involved in immune response and regulation of metabolism process as activators or repressors. Further analysis identified that these changes may be related with CpG methylation of several genes. Therefore, the results from this study provide an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms that genetic and epigenetic regulations control meat quality and beef tenderness.
Highlights
IntroductionBeef palatability is generally determined by three general criteria: tenderness, juiciness, and flavor
Beef is a source of high-quality nutrition for human populations
We found that beef tenderness, measured by the Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), was dramatically increased by acute stress
Summary
Beef palatability is generally determined by three general criteria: tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Of these factors, beef consumers usually consider tenderness as the most important palatability trait leading to a good eating experience [1,2,3]. Inconsistency in tenderness has been reported as the most important factor in determining consumer satisfaction with beef quality [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Many studies have been performed on beef quality and tenderness, identifying various important candidate genes [10, 11], quantitative trait loci (QTL), and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
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