Genetics Selection Evolution Research Association of selected SNP with carcass and taste panel assessed meat quality traits in a commercial population of Aberdeen Angus-sired beef cattle Jennifer L Gill*1, Stephen C Bishop1, Caroline McCorquodale1, John L Williams2 and Pamela Wiener1 BioMed Central Open Access Address: 1The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Roslin BioCentre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, UK and 2Parco Tecnologico Padano, Via Einstein, Polo Universitario, Lodi 26900, Italy Email: Jennifer L Gill* - jennifer.gill@roslin.ed.ac.uk; Stephen C Bishop - Stephen.Bishop@roslin.ed.ac.uk; Caroline McCorquodale - Caroline.McCorquodale@roslin.ed.ac.uk; John L Williams - John.Williams@tecnoparco.org; Pamela Wiener - Pam.Wiener@roslin.ed.ac.uk * Corresponding author Published: 25 June 2009 Genetics Selection Evolution 2009, 41:36 doi:10.1186/1297-9686-41-36 This article is available from: http://www.gsejournal.org/content/41/1/36 Received: 18 December 2008 Accepted: 25 June 2009 © 2009 Gill et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), previously associated with meat and milk quality traits in cattle, in a population of 443 commercial Aberdeen Angus-cross beef cattle. The eight SNP, which were located within five genes: μ-calpain (CAPN1), calpastatin (CAST), leptin (LEP), growth hormone receptor (GHR) and acylCoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1), are included in various commercial tests for tenderness, fatness, carcass composition and milk yield/quality. Methods: A total of 27 traits were examined, 19 relating to carcass quality, such as carcass weight and fatness, one mechanical measure of tenderness, and the remaining seven were sensory traits, such as flavour and tenderness, assessed by a taste panel. Results: An SNP in the CAPN1 gene, CAPN316, was significantly associated with tenderness measured by both the tenderometer and the taste panel as well as the weight of the hindquarter, where animals inheriting the CC genotype had more tender meat and heavier hindquarters. An SNP in the leptin gene, UASMS2, significantly affected overall liking, where animals with the TT genotype were assigned higher scores by the panellists. The SNP in the GHR gene was significantly associated with odour, where animals inheriting the AA genotype produced steaks with an intense odour when compared with the other genotypes. Finally, the SNP in the DGAT1 gene was associated with sirloin weight after maturation and fat depth surrounding the sirloin, with animals inheriting the AA genotype having heavier sirloins and more fat. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm some previously documented associations. Furthermore, novel associations have been identified which, following validation in other populations, could be incorporated into breeding programmes to improve meat quality. Page 1 of 12 (page number not for citation purposes)