Effect of consanguinity on Argentinean Angus beef DNA traceability

BALDO A.; ROGBERG MUNOZ A.; PRANDO A.J.; MELLO CESAR A.S.; LIRON J.P.; SORARRAIN N.; RAMELLI P.; POSIK D.M.; POFCHER E.; RIPOLI M.V.; BERETTA E.; PERAL GARCIA P.; VACA R.; MARIANI P.; GIOVAMBATTISTA G.

MEAT SCIENCE

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Año: 2010 vol. 85 p. 671 - 675

0309-1740

Since ´90 different authors have envisaged the use of DNA identity to certify the traceability of meat, mainly focused in two main aspects: i) to evaluate the information content of a marker set in a particular breed or group of breeds; ii) to determinate the minimum number of markers needed for an acceptable match probability. The objective of the present work was to establish the effect of various levels of inbreeding, in the matching efficiency and the minimum number of microsatellite markers needed, in a DNA based meat traceability program using 11-microsatellite marker panel. Samples were taken from real commercial beef production farms from MERCOSUR, were animals are typically bred under pasture-based extensive conditions. Three groups with different consanguinity rates were sampled. Exclusion power (Q) was higher than 0,999998 and match probability lower than 3.01E-08, for the whole set of markers within each group. Both values were affected when consanguinity increase reflected in the minimum number of markers needed to reach a defined Q value. To reach Q2=99.99 six markers were needed in not related animals but seven in related ones, and to reach Q2=99.9999, 8 and 10 markers were needed, respectively. In general, the number of markers needed to identify animals was one or two markers higher, when animals were consanguineous. Despite all, this set was enough to identify meat from all slaughtered animals in Argentina, per week, month, and year.