Linoleic acid metabolic pathway allows for an efficient increase of intramuscular fat content in pigs

摘要

BackgroundIntramuscular fat (IMF) content is a relevant trait for high-quality meat products such as dry-cured ham, but increasing IMF has the undesirable correlated effect of decreasing lean growth. Thus, there is a need to find selection criteria for IMF independent from lean growth. In pigs, the proportion of linoleic (C18:2) and arachidonic (C20:4) acids decline with fat deposition and therefore they can be considered as indicators of fatness. The aim of this research was to estimate the genetic variation for C18:2 and C20:4 in IMF and their genetic correlations with IMF and lean growth traits, with the objective to assess their potential as specific biomarkers of IMF. The analysis was conducted using a full-pedigreed Duroc resource line with 91,448 records of body weight and backfat thickness (BT) at 180 days of age and 1371 records of fatty acid composition in the muscle gluteus medius.