In beef × dairy steers, one copy of the F94L allele decreased steak angularity in the strip loin and fat-associated flavor attributes in tenderloin steaks, while tenderness was not impacted. Reduced strip loin steak angularity addresses inherent deficiencies in dairy and dairy-cross carcasses; thus, the F94L allele could improve the consumer and chef acceptability of beef × dairy strip loin steaks. Using a beef sire homozygous for F94L myostatin in a beef-on-dairy system would ensure that all resulting progenies have exactly one copy of the F94L allele, meaning that this genetic strategy could be rapidly implemented in the beef-on-dairy industry segment.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.