Tenderness Gene??

[NonTypicalCPA]

I had a potential heifer buyer at my place the other day and he was talking about testing being done to identify cattle that had genes that produced more tender beef. Any truth to this, recently? The only articles I could find on testing was many years ago and there were no results as of the article date.

 

[Lucky_P]

Some of the gene markers associated with tenderness have been identified.
First-generation that I'm aware of was the GeneStar tests... A number of Angus, and a few Shorthorn sires had test results available - and I used them as selection criteria behind epds and pedigree... particularly using sires with as many of the (at that time, 6 - 3 pair) gene markers. Used several 5 & 6-star Angus sires, and several of the Shorthorn sires we used had 3 or 4 of the 6 markers.
The newer genomic tests do include tenderness as one of the traits that they supposedly measure/represent... I've not looked lately at the Angus sires, as we've switched back mainly to Simmental sires.
The Simmental 'Shear' epd is supposed to represent tenderness, based on Warner-Bratzler shear force... and, again, I consider it, if all other traits I'm looking for in a particular sire are present; the more negative the Shr epd, the more desirable.

Granted, to date, no one is paying me any extra for breeding in tenderness... but I'm still selecting for it when I can... at some point, it might be worth something... if nothing else, I'm hoping someone is having an enjoyable eating experience, if they're eating steaks from one of my calves.

 

[alpine740]

I've seen reference to this in Wagyu, more so than other breeds. Wagyu registration requires DNA verification; the tenderness score is an optional test (1-10, 10 being the most tender). Some debate exists regarding exactly how hereditary it is.

 

[J+ Cattle]

I know this is an older thread but it's the most recent one on this topic that I found.

I know many of the DNA tests have a score for tenderness that are supposed to correlate to the Warner-Bratzler shear force test, with negative numbers being more tender. My Zoetis Inherit Select tests that I do for replacement heifers have this score. My question is how can I use this as a selection criteria for choosing Angus sires. I don't see anything published in the semen catalogs for this but I feel fairly certain it would be part of the HD50K test profile. Do you think bull owners would share this information if it was requested?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Yes, I believe you could contact the owners - but the semen catalog lists their registration number, so you should be able to look them up on the AAA site and see what their EPD is for Tenderness/Shear Force. Then you can look up AAA's EPD averages, so you know where each bull rates in that catagory.
I know you can do that with Simmental, so I'm pretty sure AAA will have all the same info.

 

[simme]

Angus association has a lot of epd's. But I don't think they have one for tenderness (shear). Simmental has had one for years, but that epd usually has the lowest accuracy of any. I guess the accuracy is low because of the amount of data available. I think that shear/tenderness measurement involves measuring the mechanical force required to push a cutting edge through a piece of meat. Getting enough data points on enough animals to produce an accurate epd is probably difficult, time consuming and expensive. Who bears the costs for that test is probably an issue.
Angus has an epd for scrotal circumference. Simmental does not have that one. I suspect each new epd requires quite an effort to develop. Collecting enough data on many animals in many locations, developing the model to calculate the epd values and the ongoing effort to collect and process data for that value in the future. I suspect it takes years to develop a new epd with enough accuracy and confidence to be valuable. I think the majority of people don't get beyond CE, BW, WW and MILK.

 

[GoWyo]

The only tenderness data on Angus is genomic data. There is not an EPD for it.

 

[Lucky_P]

Haven't looked in a while, but ABS (maybe SS, as well?) used to have online tables listing HD50K results on current and past Angus sires...like this here:

https://www.absglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2022/05/Genomic-scores-5.6.22.pdf

Tenderness score in last column... IDK what the numbers signify, though.

 

[J+ Cattle]

Haven't looked in a while, but ABS (maybe SS, as well?) used to have online tables listing HD50K results on current and past Angus sires...like this here:

https://www.absglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2022/05/Genomic-scores-5.6.22.pdf

Tenderness score in last column... IDK what the numbers signify, though.

@Lucky_P this link is very helpful, the tenderness genomic score shows the ranking within the database. A lower number indicates a better ranking, meaning more tender.

Take GB Fireball 672 for example he is top 1% for marbling but 98% for tenderness, indicating a well marbled but tough steak. On the other hand, Tehama Patriarch F028 is 23% for marbling and top 5% for tenderness. I would give up a little bit of marbling for a tender steak.

 

[Lucky_P]

@J+ Cattle
Saw several sires in there that we used some time back. Several had the old GeneStar data that played into my selection decision tree. Looks like agreement between the old and new genomic tests is kinda wonky.
For example:
N-Bar Primetime D806 had 5 of 6 Genestar tenderness gene markers, on HD50K has a 10% on Tenderness, 6% on Marbling... 94 for REA, but those would likely have been tender, well-marbled steaks, even if small.
GT Shear Force and B/R Destination 727-928 each had 6 of 6 Genestar tenderness gene markers but have HD50K scores of 30

 

[J+ Cattle]

@J+ Cattle
Saw several sires in there that we used some time back. Several had the old GeneStar data that played into my selection decision tree. Looks like agreement between the old and new genomic tests is kinda wonky.
For example:
N-Bar Primetime D806 had 5 of 6 Genestar tenderness gene markers, on HD50K has a 10% on Tenderness, 6% on Marbling... 94 for REA, but those would likely have been tender, well-marbled steaks, even if small.
GT Shear Force and B/R Destination 727-928 each had 6 of 6 Genestar tenderness gene markers but have HD50K scores of 30

@Lucky_P as mentioned before by @simme the accuracy may be low for this trait but even a score of 30 isn't bad. My Inherit Select results give me a tenderness score but no percent ranking, it's the only trait that they don't give a ranking for. Hopefully over the years they have gotten better at their predictions and have more data to base the numbers on.

 

[Lucky_P]

@J+Cattle...
I was always impressed with the Green Gardens Angus sire lineup - calving ease, high marbling, high REA, high positive $EN... and it looks like also high tenderness scores. Just looked at their current herd sires page, and most of their younger bulls are below 20 for tenderness.

 

[Ebenezer]

@J+Cattle...
I was always impressed with the Green Gardens Angus sire lineup - calving ease, high marbling, high REA, high positive $EN... and it looks like also high tenderness scores. Just looked at their current herd sires page, and most of their younger bulls are below 20 for tenderness.

Might be a reason.

 

[Lucky_P]

"Might be a reason."

Yeah... like they were purposely selecting for it and stacking pedigrees with cattle known to produce tenderness, high REA & marbling, and positive $EN, right?
Other than some that had some AAR Ten X in the mix, I haven't seen a lot of 'bull of the month' candidates in their pedigrees.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Remember, LOOK at the cattle, not the paperwork. Too many breeders chased numbers sacrificing quality.

 

[J+ Cattle]

Remember, LOOK at the cattle, not the paperwork. Too many breeders chased numbers sacrificing quality.

Tenderness is an important quality for the consumer that you can't determine by looks, in this case we need the paperwork to make an informed breeding decision. All other things being equal I will choose the sire with better tenderness numbers.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

True only if all your calves are terminal. No number is worth "chasing" if you have a breeding program.
There are always structurally correct, efficient bulls to pick from that will have enough tenderness.