CALPAIN SYSTEM EXPRESSION IN THREE SOUTH AFRICAN BEEF CROSS-BREEDS

摘要

IntroductionOne of the most important meat quality attributes of meat is meat tenderness (Ouali, 1991). The calpain system expression in three typical South African cross breeds (Brahman-crosses, n=20, Nguni-crosses, n=20 and Simmentaler-crosses, n=20) was studied by means of SDS-PAGE and Western-blotting. The degradation of proteins such as titin, nebulin, and desmin have shown to play a role in the development in meat tenderness (Huff-Lonergan et al. 1996) and act as substrates for the calpain system known to be involved with the post mortem ageing of meat. The purposes of this paper is to illustrate genetic expression differences of the calpain system between typical South African Bos indicus, Sanga and Bos taurus genotypes.