Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Calpain1, Calpastatin and Cathepsin D genes and their association with beef quality traits in Piemontese cattle breed

The interest of researchers and meat industry for beef quality (BQ) has grown dramatically, but routinely assessment of BQ is diffi cult and expensive to be carried out. Several gene polymorphisms have been reported to be involved in BQ. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Calpain1(CAPN1), Calpastatin (CAST) and Cathepsin D (CTS) genes on share force, drip loss, cooking loss and meat color in 990 young Piemontese bulls. CAPN1 SNP g.4558 G>A and CAPN1 SNP g.6545C>T, CAST SNP g.2870A>G, CAST SNP g.2959A>G, CAST SNP g.282C>G, and CTSD SNP g.77G>A were investigated by RFLP-PCR and ARMS-PCR techniques. An association study for the aforementioned SNPs was performed using Bayesian methodology via Gibbs sampling. The model included the effects of the fattening herd, the week of BQ analysis, the genotypes of the investigated loci and the additive genetic effects of animals. A weak effect was observed only for CAST g.282C>G and CAPN1 g.4558 G>A on drip loss and for CAST g.2959A>G on redness. Nevertheless, a 95% Bayesian confi dence region of estimates included zero. These results suggest that genotypes at all investigated loci did not strongly affect BQ.