Abstract
Beef is an essential food source in the world. Beef quality, especially tenderness, has a significant impact on consumer satisfaction and industry profit. Many types of research to date have focused on the exploration of physiological and developmental mechanisms of beef tenderness. Still, the role and impact of DNA methylation status on beef tenderness have yet to be elucidated. In this study, we exhaustively analyzed the DNA methylation status in divergent tenderness observed in Angus beef. We characterized the methylation profiles related to beef tenderness and explored methylation distributions on the whole genome. As a result, differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with tenderness and toughness of beef were identified. Importantly, we annotated these DMRs on the bovine genome and explored bio-pathways of underlying genes and methylation biomarkers in beef quality. Specifically, we observed that the ATP binding cassette subfamily and myosin-related genes were highly methylated gene sets, and generation of neurons, regulation of GTPase activity, ion transport and anion transport, etc., were the significant pathways related with beef tenderness. Moreover, we explored the relationship between DNA methylation and gene expression in DMRs. Some methylated genes were identified as candidate biomarkers for beef tenderness. These results provide not only novel epigenetic information associated with beef quality but offer more significant insights into meat science, which will further help us explore the mechanism of muscle biology.
Highlights
Beef constitutes one of the primary food sources worldwide due to its high-quality protein and other nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, zinc, unsaturated fatty acid, etc. (Delgado, 2003; McNeill and Van Elswyk, 2012)
The measurement of meat quality traits showed that Warner–Bratzler shear forces (WBSF) values differed significantly for these 19 steers, ranged from 5.81 to 20.70 kg (13.37 ± 5.35 kg), but crude fat, fatty acid contents, and cooking loss varied slightly
After further analysis of the meat quality traits between tender and tough groups, we found that crude fat content was significant between these two groups (P < 0.05)
Summary
Beef constitutes one of the primary food sources worldwide due to its high-quality protein and other nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, zinc, unsaturated fatty acid, etc. (Delgado, 2003; McNeill and Van Elswyk, 2012). Beef composition and quality have always been a principal focal point for both consumers and producers (Galbraith, 2002; Raes et al, 2003). Beef quality has been influenced and evaluated by three general criteria: tenderness, juiciness, and flavor (Boleman et al, 1997), of which, juiciness and flavor are subjective and influenced by several factors, such as cooking style, consumer preferences, and ethnic, cultural habits. Tenderness is one of the most important factors influencing the quality and can be quantitatively and objectively measured by the Warner–Bratzler shear forces (WBSF) (Huffman et al, 1996; Ferraris et al, 2013; Hocquette et al, 2013; Morales et al, 2013; Nogalski et al, 2018). Many intricate biological processes are involved, such as rigor development, fiber contraction, proteolysis during aging and meat maturation (Tornberg, 1996; Patten et al, 2008; Nishimura, 2010)
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