Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
Centre for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
Poult Sci. 2022 Oct;101(10):102055. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2022.102055. Epub 2022 Jul 15.
The presence of meat quality defects is increasing in the turkey industry. While the main strategy for mitigating these issues is through improved housing, management, and slaughter conditions, it may be possible to incorporate meat quality into a turkey breeding strategy with the intent to improve meat quality. Before this can occur, it is important to describe the current state of turkey meat quality as well as the correlations among the different meat quality traits and important production traits. The main objective of the present study was to provide a descriptive analysis of 8 different meat quality traits for turkey breast meat from 3 different purebred lines (A, B, and C), and their correlation with a selection of production traits. Using a total of 7,781 images, the breast meat (N = 590-3,892 birds depending on trait) was evaluated at 24 h postmortem for color (L*, a*, b*), pH, and physiochemical characteristics (drip loss, cooking loss, shear force). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and Pearson correlations were computed to describe the relationships among traits within each genetic line. A one-factor ANOVA and post hoc t-test were conducted for each trait and between each of the genetic lines. We found significant differences between genetic lines for some color traits (L* and a*), pH, drip loss, and cooking loss. The lightest line in weight (line B) had meat that was the lightest (L*) in color. The heaviest line (line C) had meat that was less red (a*) with a higher pH and greater cooking loss. Unfavorable correlations between production traits and meat quality were also found for each of the genetic lines where increases in production (e.g., body weight, growth rate) resulted in meat that was lighter and redder in color and in some cases (line B and C), with an increased moisture loss. The results of this study provide an important benchmark for turkey meat quality in purebred lines and provide an updated account of the relationships between key production traits and meat quality. Although the magnitude of these correlations is low, their cumulative effect on meat quality can be more significant especially with continued selection pressure on growth and yield.
火鸡产业中存在肉质缺陷的情况日益增多。虽然缓解这些问题的主要策略是通过改善饲养、管理和屠宰条件，但有可能将肉质纳入火鸡育种策略中，以改善肉质。在这之前，重要的是要描述火鸡肉质的现状，以及不同肉质特性和重要生产特性之间的相关性。本研究的主要目的是提供来自 3 个纯系（A、B 和 C）的火鸡胸肉 8 种不同肉质特性的描述性分析，以及它们与一系列生产特性的相关性。使用总共 7781 张图像，在 24 h 死后对胸肉（根据特性，N=590-3892 只鸟）进行颜色（L*、a*、b*）、pH 值和生理化学特性（滴水损失、蒸煮损失、剪切力）的评估。在每个遗传系内，计算描述统计（平均值和标准差）和皮尔逊相关系数以描述性状之间的关系。对每个性状和每个遗传系之间进行单因素方差分析和事后 t 检验。我们发现遗传系之间的一些颜色性状（L和 a）、pH 值、滴水损失和蒸煮损失存在显著差异。体重最轻的系（B 系）的肉色最浅（L*）。体重最重的系（C 系）的肉色较红（a*），pH 值较高，蒸煮损失较大。每个遗传系也发现了生产特性和肉质之间的不利相关性，其中生产（如体重、生长速度）的增加导致肉色更浅、更红，在某些情况下（B 系和 C 系），水分损失增加。本研究的结果为纯系火鸡肉质提供了重要的基准，并提供了关键生产特性与肉质之间关系的最新描述。尽管这些相关性的幅度较小，但它们对肉质的累积效应可能更为显著，尤其是在继续对生长和产量进行选择压力的情况下。
