Abstract
This study investigated the effect of different cattle management strategies at farm (Intensive vs. Extensive) and during transport and lairage (mixing vs. non-mixing with unfamiliar animals) on the myofibrillar subproteome of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle of “Asturiana de los Valles” yearling bulls. It further aimed to study the relationships with beef quality traits including pH, color, and tenderness evaluated by Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF). Thus, comparative proteomics of the myofibrillar fraction along meat maturation (from 2 h to 14 days post-mortem) and different quality traits were analyzed. A total of 23 protein fragments corresponding to 21 unique proteins showed significant differences among the treatments (p < 0.05) due to any of the factors considered (Farm, Transport and Lairage, and post-mortem time ageing). The proteins belong to several biological pathways including three structural proteins (MYBPC2, TNNT3, and MYL1) and one metabolic enzyme (ALDOA) that were affected by both Farm and Transport/Lairage factors. ACTA1, LDB3, and FHL2 were affected by Farm factors, while TNNI2 and MYLPF (structural proteins), PKM (metabolic enzyme), and HSPB1 (small Heat shock protein) were affected by Transport/Lairage factors. Several correlations were found between the changing proteins (PKM, ALDOA, TNNI2, TNNT3, ACTA1, MYL1, and CRYAB) and color and tenderness beef quality traits, indicating their importance in the determination of meat quality and their possible use as putative biomarkers.
Highlights
Improving beef production and meat quality to cope with meet consumer demands is a major concern of the livestock production sector
It is well known that cattle intrinsic factors, such as breed and genetics, have a decisive influence on beef production and on the ultimate meat quality, different breeding strategies and meat maturation procedures must be adapted to the genetic diversity of the animals [1,2]
There is great interest in promoting the development of native cattle breeds, as they seem to be more adapted to regional production systems and for promoting proximity trade as a sustainability strategy [3]
Summary
Improving beef production and meat quality to cope with meet consumer demands is a major concern of the livestock production sector. It is well known that cattle intrinsic factors, such as breed and genetics, have a decisive influence on beef production and on the ultimate meat quality, different breeding strategies and meat maturation procedures must be adapted to the genetic diversity of the animals [1,2]. In this sense, there is great interest in promoting the development of native cattle breeds, as they seem to be more adapted to regional production systems and for promoting proximity trade as a sustainability strategy [3]. Cattle are herd animals that establish social orders, so the regrouping of animals or mixing with unfamiliar animals during transport and lairage, despite being a common husbandry practice, can have a detrimental effect on animal welfare, increasing animal stress [11,12]
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