Meat Science Commons^™

New Alleles In Calpastatin Gene Are Associated With Meat Quality Traits In Pigs, Daniel C. Ciobanu, John W. M. Vleck, S. M. Lonergan, H. Thomsen, J. C. M. Dekkers, G. S. Plastows, M. F. Rothschild

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Suggestive QTL affecting raw firmness scores and average Instron force, tenderness, juiciness, and chewiness on cooked meat were mapped to pig chromosome 2 using a three-generation intercross between Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs. Based on its function and location, the calpastatin (CAST) gene was considered to be a good candidate for the observed effects. Several missense and silent mutations were identified in CAST and haplotypes covering most of the coding region were constructed and used for association analyses with meat quality traits. Results demonstrated that one CAST haplotype was significantly associated with lower Instron force and cooking loss and …