Anti-CAPN1 (aa 317-493) polyclonal antibody

The objective of this study was to investigate single nucleotide polymorphisms in the calpastatin (CAST) gene and to test their association with meat quality traits in Hyla, Champagne, and Tianfu Black rabbit breeds. We detected one single nucleotide polymorphism (g.16441502 C > T) located at 67 bp in intron 3 of the CAST gene in Chromosome 11. The three rabbit populations had intermediate levels of genetic diversity in the CAST gene. The statistical analysis indicated that rabbits with the TT genotype had a significantly greater yellowness at 0 and 24 h postmortem than those with the CC genotype (P < .05) in the longissimus dorsi muscle. Rabbits with CC genotype had higher intramuscular fat content than those with CT and CC genotypes in both longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles in the three breeds (P < .05). Our results indicated that the CAST gene may be used as a possible candidate for marker-assisted selection in rabbit meat breeding programmes.

High meat quality and specifically meat tenderness are desired traits by the consumers, however the environmental impact of meat production is becoming a relevant factor in the industry. Therefore, breeding of dual purpose cattle breeds may answer the high demand of meat production in the future. In this study we identified statistical differences between genotypes of CAST and CAPN1 gene variants with meat quality traits in a dairy breed (Nordic Red Cattle) and compared the results with beef breed (Aberdeen Angus). Our results show that the favorable alleles have not been selected in the studied dairy breed and thus could be used as a tool for improvement of meat quality. The genes were associated with specific meat quality traits (i.e. sensory juiciness, marbling score and meat color) also in the dairy breed. This supports the utility of known meat quality associated genetic variants to improve meat quality in dairy breeds.