Portuguese Local Pig Breeds: Genotype Effects on Meat and Fat Quality Traits
José Manuel Martins,
Rita Fialho,
André Albuquerque,
José Neves,
Amadeu Freitas,
José Tirapicos Nunes,
Rui Charneca
Affiliations
José Manuel Martins
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
Rita Fialho
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
André Albuquerque
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
José Neves
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
Amadeu Freitas
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
José Tirapicos Nunes
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
Rui Charneca
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
This work investigated the contribution of cross-breeding between two local Portuguese pig breeds to the conservation of animal biodiversity and income of local pig producers. Quality traits of semimembranosus (SM), gluteus medius (GM) and dorsal subcutaneous fat (DSF) were studied in Alentejano (AL), Bísaro (BI), AL × BI, and BI × AL (Ribatejano—RI) castrated male pigs. Pigs were reared outdoors, fed ad libitum, and slaughtered at ~65 (trial 1) and 150 kg BW (trial 2). In trial 1, AL pigs showed higher SM intramuscular fat, lower total collagen, and higher soluble collagen than BI pigs, while AL × BI and BI × AL pigs showed intermediate (NS) values. AL, AL × BI, and BI × AL pigs showed higher SM myoglobin content, and AL a more intense red colour than BI pigs. Finally, AL, AL × BI, and BI × AL showed higher total lipids in DSF than BI pigs. In trial 2, SM and DSF results were similar to those obtained in trial 1. In GM, AL and BI × AL showed higher intramuscular fat than BI and AL × BI pigs, while AL, AL × BI and BI × AL showed lower total collagen content than BI pigs. In conclusion, these results suggest that RI crosses are a productive alternative, with overall muscle and DSF traits statistically not different between AL × BI and BI × AL, and similar to those observed in AL pigs.
