Meat quality, fatty acid profile and genomic insight of Busha cattle in extensive production systems in Serbia

Identification of SNPs and effective genes associated with meat quality traits and fatty acid (FA) profiles can help in the selection of animals with the best potential. In this study, we characterized the meat quality parameters in young Busha bulls for the first time and further performed GWAS analysis for meat quality traits. The fatty acid profile showed that saturated fatty acids were the most abundant in meat and that oleic fatty acid, which is a monounsaturated fatty acid, had the highest content. The correlation analysis showed that the protein content had a negative correlation (p < 0.05) with the pH value and a positive correlation (p < 0.05) with the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. GWAS analysis was performed with the BovineSNP50 v3 DNA Analysis BeadChip using the Illumina IscanTM platform. The data were analyzed with PLINK 1.9. Thirteen SNPs were identified with genome wide significant association with muscle fiber diameter (MFD) and one with meat pH. Several candidate genes for MFD have been identified, including APOD , NTMT2 and ZBTB37 . ?Candidate SNPs with near suggestive signifficant association with multiple fatty acids level were identified: ARS-BFGL-NGS-118200, Hapmap48202-BTA-118947, BTA-112619-no-rs. ANGPTL3 could be a potential new candidate gene influencing the FA profile. This study provided valuable insights into the genetics of Busha meat quality traits. The findings from this study could be used for the sustainable exploitation of this autochthonous cattle breed.