Using state-of-the art genomics to predict whether a piece of beef will be tender enough may sound excessive. Until now, the meat industry has been using low-tech methods to assess beef quality, based on carcass weight, hanging method and pattern of muscle fat stripes, also known as marbling. However, traditional approaches may lack competitiveness at an industrial scale. "The meat industry needs more precise and consistent ways to predict the quality of beef before it reaches the shelves," Geraldine Duffy, said. She is the Head of food safety at the Teagasc Food Research Centre in Dublin, Ireland, who coordinates the EU-funded project Prosafe Beef.
As a part of the project, about 3,000 genes involved in muscle biology were selected by Jean-François Hocquette and his group at the Herbivore Research Unit of the National Agronomic Research Institute (INRA) in Theix, France, after mining the scientific literature. These candidates may have an impact on tenderness, flavour and juiciness: three main parameters that influence meat quality. "These genes belong to different families: those which regulate fat, connective tissue and protein contents of muscles, respectively," remarks Hocquette.
An additional family of genes associated with meat quality is that of so-called "heat shock protein(HSP)" genes, the researchers found. They are also known to be involved in processes such as tissue damage and death.
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