Abstract
A study was conducted to identify molecular changes reflective of beef tenderness variation and tenderization during postmortem aging. Carcasses (U.S. Select) were selected to represent extremes in tenderness (n = 20; 10 per class). Two pairs of adjacent longissimus lumborum steaks from each strip loin were blocked by location and assigned to each aging time (2, 7, 14, or 28 d postmortem). One steak from each pair was designated for slice shear force determination and the other was used for sarcomere length, western blotting for desmin, and non-targeted LC- and GC–MS metabolite profiling. Tough steaks had higher (P < 0.001) slice shear force values than tender steaks, and increasing aging time decreased (P < 0.001) slice shear force values. Tender steaks had a greater (P < 10–4) proportion of desmin degraded than tough steaks, and increasing aging time increased (P < 10–22) desmin degradation in steaks from both classes. From 2,562 profiled metabolites, 102 metabolites were included in the final analysis after statistical screening. Twenty-eight metabolites could be annotated and loosely categorized into amino acids/peptides (n = 16), metabolism intermediates (n = 7), glycosides (n = 4), and fatty acids and phospholipids (n = 3). Amino acids were primarily associated with desmin degradation. Increased glucose levels were strongly associated to the tender classification and moderately associated to increased proteolysis, while increased glucose-6-phosphate was strongly related to the tender class but was related to decreased proteolysis. Increased malic acid was strongly associated to the tough classification, increased slice shear force, and decreased proteolysis. Increased levels of 3-phosphoglyceric acid and glycerol-3-phosphate was moderately associated with increased slice shear force and decreased proteolysis. These data indicate that accumulation of amino acids during aging is strongly related to postmortem proteolysis and may provide evidence of the fate of proteins degraded postmortem. Measures of glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, and malic acid concentrations may provide a metabolic fingerprint indicative of tenderness differences in beef longissimus.
Highlights
IntroductionTenderness is a primary driver of consumer satisfaction of beef products (Lorenzen et al, 1996; Boleman et al, 1997; Lusk et al, 2001)
Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S Department of Agriculture The authors are grateful to Patty Beska, Peg Ekeren, Kristen Ostdiek, and Casey Trambly of the U.S Meat Animal Research Center for their assistance in the execution of this experiment and to Jody Gallagher of the U.S Meat Animal Research Center for her secretarial assistance
The carcasses were classified based on slice shear force values across aging times, and the difference between tenderness classes was by design
Summary
Tenderness is a primary driver of consumer satisfaction of beef products (Lorenzen et al, 1996; Boleman et al, 1997; Lusk et al, 2001). Mechanisms regulating meat tenderness are of great interest and have been the subject of considerable study (Koohmaraie, 1996; Geesink and Koohmaraie, 1999; Huff Lonergan et al, 2010). Sarcomere length (Herring et al, 1965; Hostetler et al, 1972; Smulders et al, 1990) and postmortem degradation of cytoskeletal proteins
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