Enhancing the nutritional value of red meats through genetic and feeding strategies

• Published in: Journal of animal science 2020-11, Vol.98, p.82-82
• Main Authors: Juarez, Manuel M, Lam, Stephanie, Bohrer, Ben M, Dugan, Mike, Vahmani, Payam, Prieto, Nuria, Campos, Oscar Lopez, Aalhus, Jennifer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additives; Amino acids; Animal nutrition; Bioavailability; Breeding; Composition; Developing countries; Diet; Dietary supplements; Essential nutrients; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Feeds; Gene expression; Genetic diversity; Genetic variance; Genetics; Intestinal microflora; Iodine; LDCs; Meat; Microbiomes; Minerals; Nutrient requirements; Nutrient utilization; Nutrients; Nutrigenomics; Nutrition; Nutritive value; Quality management; Selenium; Trace minerals; Vitamins
• ISSN: 0021-8812; 1525-3163

Consumption of red meats contributes substantially to the intake of several essential nutrients in the human diet, including protein, essential fatty acids, and several vitamins and trace minerals. Despite concerns regarding potential negative impacts on human health and the environment, demand for red meats continues to increase worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Enhancing the nutritional value of meats is essential to provide consumers with competitive products that meet their nutrient requirements and address their health concerns. Different nutrients in red meats vary in their responsiveness to dietary and genetic manipulations. The fat content and fatty acid composition of meats can be easily modified through animal nutrition. Similarly, iodine, selenium and fat-soluble vitamin content can be significantly manipulated using dietary strategies. In contrast, amino acids, copper, iron, zinc, and water-soluble vitamins are less responsive to dietary manipulations. Feeding studies (i.e. supplements, additives, production systems, life period, nutritional regimes and duration) are relatively abundant and have shown substantial changes to nutritional value in many scenarios. Traditional breeding, including genetic selection for specific traits, has been used to influence multiple carcass and meat quality attributes relevant to nutritional value of meat, including leanness. The use of molecular genetics (i.e. GWAS, identification of genetic variants, gene expression profiles) in the past decade has offered alternative genetic perspectives on improving the nutritional value of meats. Recent studies have also shown influence of rumen or gut microbiome features on nutrient bioavailability and utilization. However, a limited number of studies have combined feeding strategies for specific genetic potential. Given the nutrient composition of meat can be influenced by a dynamic interaction of genetics and environment, the fields of phenomics, nutrigenomics, integrative diet-host-microbiome, and systems biology may bring further insight to better understand the manipulation of red meat composition under both experimental and commercial conditions.