EXCELMEAT
An International Research Network for the Genetic Improvement of Pigmeat
Quality and the Development of
Biosensing Technologies as Rapid and
Cost-Effective Tools for Meat Quality
Evaluation
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IRSES
Dr
Jules Hernández
EXCELMEAT coordinator
IRTA Monells, March 2012

1.
What is EXCELMEAT?
2.
Pork Quality Views
3.
Partners
4.
Work Packages
5.
Genes and meat quality
6.
Workshop
7.
Potential EU project?

• EU funded scientific network
• It funds travel + accommodation
• It does not fund research costs
• Opportunity to establish international collaborations
• It could lead to a European Project
• www.bdporc.irta.es/excelmeat/index.html

PORK QUALITY:
THE CONSUMER 01.1 QUÈ ÉS?

PORK QUALITY:
THE SCIENTIST 01.1 QUÈ ÉS?

ROLE OF
GENETICS 01.1 QUÈ ÉS?
Halothene Gene

ROLE OF
GENETICS 01.1 QUÈ ÉS?
Acid Meat Gene

ROLE OF
GENETICS
• Genetics gives raw material
01.1 QUÈ ÉS?
• No environmental change will transform Pietrain into Duroc
• No simple Mendelian explanation for most complex traits
• The way: Genetics x Environment

01.1 QUÈ ÉS?
1.
IRTA
2.
Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
3.
University of Bologna (UNIBO)
4.
University of West England (UWE)
5.
Ukranian Institute of Pig Breeding (IPBUA)
6.
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)
7.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
8.
Iowa State University (ISU)

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
1.
Pleiotropic and epigenetic studies of meat quality markers
2.
Muscle growth and development
3.
Regulation of fat deposition and fatty acid composition
4.
Animal welfare and handling as a source of stressors that affect meat quality
5.
Development of novel technology for rapid and inexpensive evaluations of meat quality parameters

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
WP1
• Pleiotropy
 One gene affecting 2+ traits
 Good genes for meat quality should not be bad for production/survival
 Data: >100 traits (fat, growth, sensorial) in Duroc (project
LIPEXQ, Dr. Quintanilla)
• Epigenetics
 How DNA methylation controls gene expression?
 Data: gene HMGA1 in Ukranian pigs + Duroc

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
WP2
• Meat tenderness
 Calpain (proteolysis)
 Calpastatin (calpain inhibitors)
 Cathepsin D (proteolisis)
 Cystatins (cathepsin inhibitors)
 Myopalladin (Z-line and gene expression regulation)
 Myostatin (stops muscle growth)
 Titin (muscle assembly, structure, elasticity)
• Protein profile differences within Duroc: leanest vs. fattest

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
WP3
• Fat metabolism
 Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACACA)
 ATP citrate lyase (ACL)
 Fatty acid synthase (FASN)
 Stearoyl-CoA-desaturase (SCD)
 ∆5 and ∆6 desaturases
• Lipogenic enzymes in 2D and 3D cell culture
• Gene networks: PPAR/RXR transcription factors
 Adipocite differentiation, lipogenesis

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
WP4
• Pre-slaughtering stress
 Best non-invasive measure of stress?
• Genetics of stress tolerance
 Gene expression profile differences between stressed and non-stressed pigs

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
WP5
• Current methods are slow, expensive, and difficult to implement on-line
 Fat composition by gas/liquid chromatography
• Future methods should be fast, cheap, and easy to implement on-line
 Measuring intramuscular and back fat:
• Magnetic immunosensors
• Impedance spectroscopy
• Hormones and stress (cortisol)

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
PORK QUALITY BIOSENSORS WORKSHOP
Lleida 25 October 2012
• From 10 am to 6 pm (2 hours break)
• Oral (15+5 min.) or posters
• 18 presentations in 6 hours (3 pres./hr.)
• Abstract Format
( www.bdporc.irta.es/excelmeat/Workshop.html
)
• Audience: EXCELMEAT members, IRTA colleagues, guest researchers, SMEs, Large Companies, Vet
College...

TÍTOL DEL
POWER POINT.
PRESENTACIÓ
• Objective
 What can generate income to SMEs?
• Focus
 Is GxE the way forward?
• Funding
 EU funding research for SMEs
 National CDTIs