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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 49(4)

Quantitative analysis of performance, carcass and meat quality traits in cattle from two Australian beef herds in which a null myostatin allele is segregating

B. A. O’ Rourke A B G , J. A. Dennis B E , P. J. Healy B E , W. A. McKiernan A C , P. L. Greenwood A D , L. M. Cafe A D , D. Perry A D , K. H. Walker B F , I. Marsh B , P. F. Parnell A D and P. F. Arthur A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

B New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia.

C New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

D New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Beef Industry Centre of Excellence, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

E Hereford Hall Road, Braidwood, NSW 2622, Australia.

F Meat and Livestock Australia, Level 1, 165 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia.

G Corresponding author. Email: brendon.orourke@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Animal Production Science 49(4) 297-305 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA08206
Submitted: 23 July 2008  Accepted: 16 January 2009   Published: 6 April 2009

Abstract

Two Australian beef cattle herds, in which selection for muscularity was a primary objective, were used in this study to identify bovine myostatin (MSTN) mutations associated with increased muscling, and to assess associations between genotype and performance, carcass and meat quality traits. One was a research herd (herd A) established from Angus × Hereford cows, and comprised a high and low muscle selection line. The other (herd B) was a commercial beef enterprise with cattle of Angus and Charolais origin. Sequencing of the MSTN coding region and flanking splice junctions in an initial sample of 34 animals from both herds identified the 821 del11 mutation as well as six other polymorphic sites. The nucleotide 374–50C > T polymorphism in intron 1 was found to be in linkage disequilibrium with the 821 del11 mutation, with both variants confined to the high muscle selection line in herd A. No other variants were exclusive to either of the two herd A selection lines. The effect of the 821 del11 mutation was further investigated in a total of 803 cattle from both herds. A relatively high prevalence of 821 del11 heterozygotes (herd A 16%; herd B 23%) was found and heterozygotes had significant advantages in eye muscle area and muscle score over their wildtype counterparts, and did not differ in meat quality. Retail beef yield from steers was higher for the 821 del11 heterozygotes from herd A (67.0 v. 63.5%) and herd B (71.8 v. 68.6%), relative to homozygous wildtype contemporaries, demonstrating the benefits of incorporating single null MSTN alleles into breeding programs.


Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Meat and Livestock Australia. We thank the commercial herd (herd B) owner B. Brooker for the use of his herd and records. The assistance provided by the following NSW DPI staff is gratefully appreciated: Phil Dawes, Peter Kamphorst, Peter Newman, Stuart McClelland, Joe Brunner and Bill Johns. Additional technical support was provided by Matt Wolcott from the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, and Jason Siddell, Department of Meat Science, University of New England. The excellent cooperation of the management and staff of John Dee Abattoir, Warwick, and associated Yarranbrook feedlot, Inglewood, in particular Warren Stiff, Geoff Grant, Peter Healy and John Calvert, is also gratefully acknowledged.


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