Genetic variability of meat quality traits in Chianina beef cattle

The heritability of quality traits (chemical composition, colour, tenderness and water-holding capacity) of the meat derivingfrom three muscles (Triceps brachii, Longissimus dorsi and Semitendinosus) was evaluated in 92 young Chianinabulls. The animals were raised on two farms with different feeding programs, and were slaughtered at approximately 19months of age. Single pair correlations were considered in order to evidence the relationships between the same traitsdetected in the three muscles and between all the traits of the same muscle.The h2 values range from 0.00 to 0.24 for the chemical composition, from 0.00 to 0.19 for colour parameters, from 0.03to 0.31 for those observed after 48 h, and from 0.00 to 0.08 for tenderness and water-holding capacity. The values werenot homogeneous for the three muscles. The most heritable trait was yellowness (b*48) in all three muscles, with valuesof 0.11 in the Longissimus dorsi, 0.23 in the Semitendinosus, and 0.31 in the Triceps brachii. Conversely, tendernessappeared to have a low heritability, as did the parameters relating to the water-holding capacity. Colour traitsobserved before and after 48 h of storage generally were significantly and positively correlated, indicating that certaincolour characteristics are maintained even after 48 h of storage. There was not always a close relationship between thetraits of each muscles: significant correlations existed between the Triceps brachii and the Longissimus dorsi muscles,confirming the similar quality traits of their meat, while there were considerable differences between these muscles andthe Semitendinosus.