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 deriving from three muscles (Triceps brachii, Longissimus dorsi and Semitendinosus) was evaluated in 92 young Chianina bulls. The animals were raised on two farms with different feeding programs, and were slaughtered at approximately 19 months of age. Single pair correlations were considered in order to evidence the relationships between the same traits detected 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 0.03 to 0.31 for those observed after 48 h, and from 0.00 to 0.08 for tenderness and water-holding capacity. The values were not homogeneous for the three muscles. The most heritable trait was yellowness (b*48) in all three muscles, with values of 0.11 in the Longissimus dorsi, 0.23 in the Semitendinosus, and 0.31 in the Triceps brachii. Conversely, tenderness appeared to have a low heritability, as did the parameters relating to the water-holding capacity. Colour traits observed before and after 48 h of storage generally were significantly and positively correlated, indicating that certain colour characteristics are maintained even after 48 h of storage. There was not always a close relationship between the traits 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 and the Semitendinosus.