Genetic correlation between biopsied and post-mortem muscle fibre characteristics and meat quality traits in swine

Muscle fibre characteristics (MFCs) are related to lean meat production and meat quality. We newly estimated the heritability and genetic correlation of MFCs and meat quality in biopsied and post-mortem meat samples of 595 Jeju black pigs (JBPs). The cross-sectional area (CSA) (Type I: 0.76 and Type IIA: 0.89), % MF area (MFA) (Type I: 0.82), and % MF number (MFN) between the biopsied and post-mortem samples had high absolute genetic correlation coefficients. Moreover, the genetic correlation between the biopsied samples and drip loss (MFN of Type I: -0.77), lightness (CSA of Type I: 0.56), colour score (MFA of Type IIB: -0.79), and marbling score (CSA of Type IIB: 0.84 and MFA of Type IIA: -0.42) were moderate to high. Therefore, the MFCs of biopsied pre-mortem samples could predict the post-mortem MFCs and quality of the meat. Consequently, the biopsy method could be useful for the estimation of MFCs and meat quality in live JBPs.