Recipient Organization
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CLEMSON,SC 29634
Performing Department
Animal & Veterinary Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Marbling or intramuscular fat deposition in beef is a major determinant of carcass quality and value in the US. According to the National Beef Quality Audits (NBQA; Lorenzen et al., 1993; McKenna et al., 2000; Garcia et al., 2008; Moore et al., 2012) marbling scores and quality grades have increased from 1993 to 2016. The percentage of carcasses grading Prime has increased by 64% and upper Choice (CAB) by 75%. The percentage of carcasses grading Select or Standard decreased by 35% and 86%, respectively. The Choice-Select spread can range from $2 to $25/cwt depending on the time of year. Premiums for Certified Angus Beef (CAB; Upper Choice) range from $4 to $14/cwt and for Prime range from $9-26/cwt depending on time of year. These premiums can have a significant impact on value and profitability of beef cattle production systems. Retailers and restaurants want more Prime beef for their customers but only 2.1% of beef carcasses actually make the Prime grade (Moore et al., 2012). In order to deliver more Prime beef to the marketplace and increase beef value, beef producers must begin to utilize genetics at the cow-calf stage of production that promote intramuscular fat deposition and learn the best management practices for these cattle with genetic potential to reach their Prime quality grade target. Cow-calf producers cannot rely solely on the stocker/feedlot phase to manage cattle to reach the Prime target. Marbling is a highly heritable trait (h = 0.48; American Angus Association, 2019), which means that genetic improvement can be made if selection pressure is applied. Cow-calf producing states like SC must work towards higher quality beef production by utilizing genetics with propensity to marble and determining the best calf management strategies in order to increase profitability and stay competitive in the marketplace.Meat animals rank 3rd and cattle and calves rank 6thin agricultural products sold in South Carolina (USDA-NASS, 2019).Cattle inventory as of January 1, 2020 was listed at 340,000 head (USDA-NASS, 2020). Forty-four percent of the 31.2 million beef cows in the U.S. are located in the 13 southeastern states (Beck et al., 2017). Cow numbers in the U.S. have decreased by about 35% from 1975 to 2015; however, total pounds of beef has remained the same with fewer numbers of cows due to increases in efficiency. With the projected world population increase to 9 billion by 2050, it is estimated that world beef production will need to increase by over 65% (FAO, 2012). This will not be easy since available agricultural land and agricultural producer numbers continue to decline; whereas average age of farmers continues to increase (Nosowitz, 2018). The efficiency of beef production must continue to improve in order to produce enough beef for the growing population to meet demands for quality for high quality grades, and to do so in a sustainable manner.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
70%
Applied
30%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Major Goals and ObjectivesWe propose to conduct several research studies designed to expand our knowledge of the mechanisms regulating intramuscular fat deposition in meat-producing animals. The objectives of this study are to:1. Identify changes at the molecular level (mRNA, miRNA) in longissimus muscle during the period of intramuscular lipid deposition in steers,2. Determine gain or loss of function for specific miRNA reported in literature or identified with sequencing to target key enzymes in lipogenesis and adipocyte hypertrophy in bovine and ovine adipocytes,3. Test miRNA mediated treatment to evaluate efficacy for enhancing intramuscular fat deposition, and4. Explore how early management of cattle alters miRNA and mRNA expression, and intramuscular fat deposition.
Project Methods
We propose to conduct several research studies designed to expand our knowledge of the mechanisms regulating intramuscular fat deposition in meat-producing animals. The objectives of this study are to: 1) identify changes at the molecular level (mRNA, miRNA) in longissimus muscle during the period of intramuscular lipid deposition in steers, 2) determine gain or loss of function for specific miRNA reported in literature or identified with sequencing to target key enzymes in lipogenesis and adipocyte hypertrophy in bovine and ovine adipocytes, 3) test miRNA mediated treatment to evaluate efficacy for enhancing intramuscular fat deposition, and 4) explore how early management of cattle alters miRNA and mRNA expression, and intramuscular fat deposition.