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Meat quality is an important concern for the poultry industry. Domestic geese products obtained from free-range systems usually have rather tough meat, and it is necessary to select them to improve meat tenderness. The relation of the calpain 1 (CAPN1) gene with the post-mortem tenderness process of meat has been demonstrated in several species. Thus, the objective of the present study was to identify polymorphisms in this gene and to perform an association analysis between these polymorphisms and related economic traits in goose raised in the dehesa ecosystem. For the analysis, 50 geese of 3 different subpopulations (20 Embden Anser anser; 20 Toulouse Anser anser; 10 F1 cross) were studied. The experimental protocols were followed complying with principles of animal welfare. A novel SNP was found in the CAPN1 gene, g.68G →A. This polymorphism was statistically associated with different carcass and meat quality traits such as thigh muscle width (P =0.020) and the b* 10-day meat colour parameter (P =0.024) for the global goose population. The association of this gene with meat tenderness (Warner-Bratzler shear force) was confirmed in the case of female individuals of the Toulouse breed (P D0.043). The results suggest the possibility of using molecular markers in CAPN1 gene as a potential tool for improving carcass and meat quality traits in goose breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]