Changes in Escherichia coli O157:H7 numbers during holding on excised lean, fascia and fat beef surfaces at different temperatures.

Aim: To investigate changes in Escherichia coli O157:H7 numbers on excised beef carcass surfaces over 72 h at different temperatures.

Methods And Results: Excised lean meat, fascia and fat were inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and held in an environmental chamber for 72 h, at air speed 0.

Association of polymorphisms in the calpain I, calpain II and growth hormone genes with tenderness in bovine M. longissimus dorsi.

The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between tenderness in bovine M. longisimus dorsi (LD) and polymorphisms in the bovine calpain I (exons 9 & 14), calpain II (regulatory subunit) or growth hormone (intron 3) genes. Genomic DNA was isolated from bovine LD (n=281) on which quality attributes (Warner Bratzler shear force (WBSF), sarcomere length and composition) were also characterised.

Understanding meat quality through the application of genomic and proteomic approaches.

During the past few decades, advances in molecular genetics have led to the identification of multiple genes or genetic markers associated with genes that affect traits of interest in livestock, including single genes of large effect and QTL (genomic regions that affect quantitative traits). Transcriptomics enables analysis of the complete set of RNA transcripts produced by the genome at a given time and provides a dynamic link between the genome, the proteome and the cellular phenotype. Through a functional genomics approach to understanding the molecular basis of meat quality, we can gain further insight into the complex interplay of gene expression events involved in the development of meat quality.