Issue |
Genet. Sel. Evol.
Volume 35, Number 6, November-December 2003
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 623 - 635 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/gse:2003043 |
DOI: 10.1051/gse:2003043
Genetic parameters of meat technological quality traits in a grand-parental commercial line of turkey
Élisabeth Le Bihan-Duvala, Cécile Berria, Élisabeth Baézaa, Véronique Santéb, Thierry Astrucb, Hervé Rémignonc, Gilles Le Pottierd, James Bentleye, Catherine Beaumonta and Xavier Fernandezb, ca Institut national de la recherche agronomique, Station de recherches avicoles, 37380 Nouzilly, France
b Institut national de la recherche agronomique, Station de recherches sur la viande, Saint-Genès Champanelle, France
c École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
d Comité interprofessionnel de la dinde en France, Mordelles, France
e British United Turkeys, Chester, UK
(Received 18 June 2002; accepted 7 February 2003)
Abstract
Genetic parameters for meat quality traits and their relationships
with body weight and breast development were estimated for a total of
420 male turkeys using REML. The birds were slaughtered in a
commercial plant and the traits measured included pH at 20 min
(
) and 24 h post-mortem (pHu) and colour of the
breast and thigh meat. The heritabilities of the rate and the extent
of the pH fall in the breast muscle were estimated at
and
, respectively. Heritabilities ranging
from 0.10 to 0.32 were obtained for the colour indicators in the
breast muscle. A marked negative genetic correlation (
) was found between
and lightness (
L*) of
breast meat, both traits corresponding to PSE indicators. The
in the thigh muscle had a moderate heritability
(
) and was partially genetically related to
in the breast muscle (
). Body
weight and breast yield were positively correlated with both initial
and ultimate pH and negatively with the lightness of breast meat.
Key words: turkey / meat quality / pH / colour / genetic parameters
Correspondence and reprints: Élisabeth Le Bihan-Duval lebihan@tours.inra.fr
© INRA, EDP Sciences 2003