Abstract
The effects of breed and slaughter weight on the profile and accumulation of fatty acids in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of wethers were investigated. Dorper (earlier maturing breed) and SA Mutton Merino (later maturing breed) wethers were randomly allocated to a 2 2 factorially arranged experiment (2 breeds × 2 slaughter weights × 12 replicates). Wethers were slaughtered at either of the two predetermined slaughter weights of 37 or 43 kg. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was sampled for subsequent fatty acid analysis. Thickness of the subcutaneous adipose tissue differed between breeds ( P < 0.05) and increased with increasing slaughter weight ( P < 0.05). Breed influenced the proportions of myristic (C14:0), heptadecenoic (C17:l) and oleic (C18:1 cis) acids, while the effect of slaughter weight was not significant. When breeds were compared at equal body fatness the differences in thickness of the subcutaneous adipose tissue and proportions of heptadecenoic acid (C17:1) and oleic acid (C18:1) were negligible. Concentrations of fatty acids (C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0 and C18:1) increased ( P < 0.05) with increasing live weight. Similar differences were observed between maturity types (breeds) even when compared at an equal degree of maturity, which suggests a genetic basis for differences between these particular sheep breeds.
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