The use of gene technology for optimal development of pork meat quality

The aim of this paper is to discuss the opportunities for gene technology in relation to the quality of pork. After dealing with breed effects and within-breed variation, an overview of major genes and DNA technology is given. It is demonstrated that some of the breed effects can be fully explained from the presence of a single gene with major effect. Within breeds, there is considerable genetic variation in relevant meat quality traits like waterholding capacity and intramuscular fat. Again, part of this variation is due to major genes. As a result, DNA marker technology can play an important role in improving meat quality. Selective breeding based on this technology will also increase the uniformity of the final product. Furthermore, the exploitation of major genes can be highly relevant for differentiation of breeding populations for specific markets.