Australasian Microarray & Associated Technologies Association, AMATA

Hyndman, D*, Fisher, P^, Cullen, NG#, Morris, CA#, Hickey, SM#, Mclaren, R* and Wilson, T*
* AgResearch Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; # AgResearch Ruakura, Hamilton, New Zealand; and ^ AgResearch Invermay, New Zealand

Research on meat tenderness has covered every aspect of the production pathway from paddock to plate. These have included nutrition, pre-slaughter treatment and carcass handling, but even when consistent and quality protocols are followed, variability in tenderness continues to be a negative factor for the beef industry.

It has been shown that genetic variation plays an important roll in a tough or tender outcome. The discovery of QTL in the location of candidate genes involved in proteolysis gave weight to the theory that variability in the protease gene Calpain1 was associated with tenderness. To investigate the presence of other genetic factors that are associated with Calpain1, we used a microarray experiment where we compared muscle samples from beef cattle carrying the CC allele (tender) with samples containing the GG (tough) allele. After pathway analysis using Ingenuity and literature assessment, a selection of candidate genes were then screened for the presence of SNPs for testing against a panel of mixed cattle breeds phenotyped for tenderness. The data was analysed for association both with tenderness and with the Calpain1 SNP itself. Our objective was to find a set of markers which could account for a greater percentage of variability in meat tenderness. This approach may complement Genome Wide Association studies for marker discovery, and lead to increased understanding of the biochemical processes in meat aging.