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Genetics of Carcass and Meat Quality Traits in Iberian Pigs

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Advances in Animal Health, Medicine and Production

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Abstract

A factorial experiment was carried out with Iberian (IB, n = 60) and F1 Large White-Landrace crossbred (F1, n = 58) pigs, finished intensively or on pasture and acorns. IB pigs were genotyped with PorcineSNP60 v2 Beadchip to identify markers associated with the traits analyzed. Pigs were slaughtered in an experimental abattoir at 160 ± 5 kg live weight. Carcass properties and meat quality, including sensorial attributes, were investigated. For all traits, there was an overwhelming influence of genetic group, while finishing system had a less pronounced effect. IB pigs consistently produced fatter carcasses, with mean fat depots in IB higher than in F1 by about 25% in total abdominal fat, 94% in dorsal fat depth, 72% in intermuscular and subcutaneous ham fat, and 300% in intramuscular fat. IB pigs produced meat with higher marbling score, more appealing color coordinates and lower shear force. The sensorial properties of IB meat were more desirable in all items (tenderness, juiciness, flavor and global acceptability). This better meat quality was largely explained by the higher fat deposition in IB meat. We identified candidate genes associated with heart weight, meat moisture, index of desaturase and elongase activity, and contents of cis-vaccenic acid in intramuscular fat and of lauric acid in subcutaneous fat.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), project PTDC/CVT/116729/2010. Support from project FCT UIDP/CVT/00276/2020 is also acknowledged. The authors thank: P. Santos, A. Sequeira, and J. Batista (Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, INIAV), L. Bettencourt (Direcção Regional de Agricultura e Pescas do Alentejo, DRAPAL), for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Genetic Resources Laboratory, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    M. C. Bressan, A. Amaral & L. T. Gama

  2. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, 1749-024, Lisbon, Portugal

    M. C. Bressan

  3. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), I.P., Vale de Santarém, 2005-048, Santarém, Portugal

    J. Almeida, J. Santos-Silva & O. Moreira

  4. Direção Regional de Agricultura e Pescas do Alentejo, Herdade da Abóbada, 7830-908, Serpa, Portugal

    C. Bettencourt

  5. Animal Production Systems Laboratory, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    J. Santos-Silva & R. Bessa

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  1. M. C. Bressan
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Correspondence to L. T. Gama .

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    Antonio Freitas Duarte

  2. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luís Lopes da Costa

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Bressan, M.C. et al. (2020). Genetics of Carcass and Meat Quality Traits in Iberian Pigs. In: Freitas Duarte, A., Lopes da Costa, L. (eds) Advances in Animal Health, Medicine and Production . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61981-7_4

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