Evaluation of Metabolic Pathways Related to Meat Tenderness in Nellore Cattle.

• Grant number: 25/01512-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Nara Regina Brandão Cônsolo
• Grantee: Júlia Vitória Alves dos Santos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/08845-3 - The metabolomic approach to improve Nellore beef tenderness: a concept of metabotype and biomarkers, AP.JP

Abstract

Brazil is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of beef, playing a significant role in global livestock production. The demand for food is increasing significantly and must be met, but not only in terms of quantity-quality standards required by the consumer market must also be met, with tenderness being the main organoleptic characteristic of meat. However, meat tenderness is a complex trait that varies according to intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to the animal (breed, age, sex, and management). To better understand the variation of this trait in the herd, it is necessary to investigate the molecular and metabolic factors that can provide valuable insights into meat tenderness.For this purpose, 95 Nellore bulls will be confined for a period of 109 days in collective pens equipped with electronic feeders. The adaptation to the finishing diet will follow a step-up protocol for 21 days, starting with a 52:48 roughage-to-concentrate (R:C) ratio, which will be adjusted until reaching a 25:75 R:C proportion. After the confinement period, the animals will be slaughtered at the USP Pirassununga Teaching Abattoir. After 24 hours of cooling, a 2.54 cm steak from the Longissimus thoracis muscle will be collected for shear force (SF) analysis. Based on the results of this analysis, two groups will be formed: M) animals that presented tender meat, SF < 5; D) animals that presented tough meat, SF > 6.Additionally, pre-cooked meat samples will be collected for metabolomic analysis using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR) at Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos. The spectral images will be processed using the Chenomx NMR Suite 7.5 software (Chenomx, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). The metabolite database will be used for metabolic pathway enrichment analysis according to the M and D treatments, using the MetaboAnalyst 6.0 web tool.