Leptin receptor and fatty acid desaturase-2 gene variants affect fat, color and production profile of dry-cured hams

Abstract

The effects of LEPR (rs709596309C>T) and FADS2 (rs321384923A>G) single nucleotide polymorphisms on production and quality attributes in purebred Duroc dry-cured hams were examined. As compared to LEPR-C- hams, the LEPR-TT hams had more intramuscular fat (+2.2% dry matter, P<0.01). As a result, they showed higher saturated (+1.54%, P<0.01) and lower polyunsaturated (-1.05%, P<0.01) fatty acids content and were brighter (L*: +1.07, P<0.05) and yellower (b*: +0.78, P<0.01). The FADS2-A allele enhanced the C20:4n-6 to C18:2n-6 ratio but did not affect either fat content or color coordinates. However, hams carrying the FADS2-A allele reached the target weight loss earlier, thereby spending less time in seasoning (-8.4 d, P<0.01). Thus, production batches could be arranged by genotype, with longer manufacturing times for fatter LEPR-TT and shorter times for FADS2-A− hams. These results confirm that genetic markers validated in raw pork are effective in dry-cured ham, but also stress that product-specific validations are still needed to unravel specific outcomes.

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities and the EU Regional Development Funds (grant RTI2018-101346-B-I00). RS-M acknowledges the support from the Government of Tolima and Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (COLCIENCIAS, announcement 755 for the formation of high-level human capital for Tolima, Colombia).