Can You Have Your Beef and Eat It Too?
More than a century ago, European ranchers produced beefy, well-muscled cattle through selective breeding—without understanding how or why their genetic tinkering worked. In the 1990s, several Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, after years of searching for the reason, helped pinpoint a major gene in cattle responsible for boosting muscle size and leanness.
Since then, ARS researchers have added to their understanding of this gene, which codes for the protein myostatin, with the ultimate goal of providing consumers with cuts of beef that are not only lean, but also tender. They work to provide ranchers with information and technology needed to produce such beef profitably and sustainably.
Myostatin limits muscle growth in cattle—and in humans. If the gene responsible for producing myostatin is altered so that it makes an inactive form of the protein, or the gene is intentionally suppressed, the result is more muscle and less fat. ARS researchers are working to find optimal ways to use this gene—alongside others—to make beef more healthful, without sacrificing taste and tenderness
Love Meat Tender
A benefit of inactivated myostatin—and one likely to be popular with consumers—is beef that's more tender. "Previous researchers tested just the rib eye cut. But we found that with the altered myostatin gene, all cuts of beef have improved tenderness," says Tommy L. Wheeler, a food technologist at ARS's Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. Now low-quality cuts of beef, which are usually tough, can be palatable and tender.
And it's not just consumers who benefit. "Even if their cattle have just one copy of the modified gene, ranchers can experience a 7-percent yield increase in salable carcass," says Wheeler.
Production of leaner beef is also more energetically efficient. "But most cattle produced in the United States still contain nearly twice the amount of carcass fat considered optimal," says Michael D. MacNeil, an animal geneticist at ARS's Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Montana. This is because the current grading system pays top dollar for beef that contains more marbling—and might be more tender—despite consumer preference for lean beef. Thus, production of lean and tender beef could be a big advantage for ranchers.
Handle With Care
ARS research hopes to continue to shed light on the gene, particularly in the context of beef production. "We probably know the major effects of myostatin, but some of its minor ones are still unknown," says MacNeil. One desirable approach is to cross bulls having genes that make only inactive myostatin with cows having genes that make only the active form.
The gene that codes for the inactive form of myostatin is found more often in breeds like Piedmontese and Belgian Blue. Researchers can cross these lean, well-muscled breeds with ones traditionally used for beef production, such as Angus and Hereford. The resulting animal yields beef cuts lower in saturated fat, satisfying many health-conscious consumers. These crossbred cattle also grow faster than animals that are 100 percent Piedmontese or Belgian Blue, assuring breeders and ranchers maximum returns.
More than a century ago, European ranchers produced beefy, well-muscled cattle through selective breeding—without understanding how or why their genetic tinkering worked. In the 1990s, several Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, after years of searching for the reason, helped pinpoint a major gene in cattle responsible for boosting muscle size and leanness.
Since then, ARS researchers have added to their understanding of this gene, which codes for the protein myostatin, with the ultimate goal of providing consumers with cuts of beef that are not only lean, but also tender. They work to provide ranchers with information and technology needed to produce such beef profitably and sustainably.
Myostatin limits muscle growth in cattle—and in humans. If the gene responsible for producing myostatin is altered so that it makes an inactive form of the protein, or the gene is intentionally suppressed, the result is more muscle and less fat. ARS researchers are working to find optimal ways to use this gene—alongside others—to make beef more healthful, without sacrificing taste and tenderness
Love Meat Tender
A benefit of inactivated myostatin—and one likely to be popular with consumers—is beef that's more tender. "Previous researchers tested just the rib eye cut. But we found that with the altered myostatin gene, all cuts of beef have improved tenderness," says Tommy L. Wheeler, a food technologist at ARS's Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. Now low-quality cuts of beef, which are usually tough, can be palatable and tender.
And it's not just consumers who benefit. "Even if their cattle have just one copy of the modified gene, ranchers can experience a 7-percent yield increase in salable carcass," says Wheeler.
Production of leaner beef is also more energetically efficient. "But most cattle produced in the United States still contain nearly twice the amount of carcass fat considered optimal," says Michael D. MacNeil, an animal geneticist at ARS's Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Montana. This is because the current grading system pays top dollar for beef that contains more marbling—and might be more tender—despite consumer preference for lean beef. Thus, production of lean and tender beef could be a big advantage for ranchers.
Handle With Care
ARS research hopes to continue to shed light on the gene, particularly in the context of beef production. "We probably know the major effects of myostatin, but some of its minor ones are still unknown," says MacNeil. One desirable approach is to cross bulls having genes that make only inactive myostatin with cows having genes that make only the active form.
The gene that codes for the inactive form of myostatin is found more often in breeds like Piedmontese and Belgian Blue. Researchers can cross these lean, well-muscled breeds with ones traditionally used for beef production, such as Angus and Hereford. The resulting animal yields beef cuts lower in saturated fat, satisfying many health-conscious consumers. These crossbred cattle also grow faster than animals that are 100 percent Piedmontese or Belgian Blue, assuring breeders and ranchers maximum returns.
