Assessment of dry-aged beef from commercial aging locations across the United States

Modern dry-aging is a culinary-inspired practice that involves storing meat at refrigerated temperatures without protective packaging. The dry-aging process has been observed to create unique flavors. The objective of the current study was to survey commercial dry-aging facility environments and observe palatability differences related to consumer acceptance. Seventy-two bone-in beef strip loins (Institutional Meat Purchase Specification #175) were acquired. Strip loins were randomly assigned to each of ten commercial dry-aging facilities. Additionally, a set of strip loins were wet-aged at the University of Idaho meat laboratory. Strip loins were shipped overnight to respective aging locations and dry-aged for 45-days then returned overnight to the University of Idaho meat laboratory. Strip loins were fabricated into steaks, vacuum packaged, and then frozen until further analyzed. Commercial dry-aging facility cooler conditions were observed to be different (P 0.05) among treatment-locations. Consumer taste panels indicated a difference (P < 0.01) in acceptability (6.27–7.24), tenderness (6.65–7.54), and flavor (5.58–6.79) based on aging treatment-location. Overall, the findings indicate that conditions within individual dry-aging facilities aid in producing unique dry-aged beef flavors.Funded by the Idaho Beef Council. We gratefully acknowledge Idaho Beef Council’s financial support (AG3963

Telomerase promoter mutations in cancer: an emerging molecular biomarker?

João Vinagre, Vasco Pinto and Ricardo Celestino contributed equally to the manuscript.Cell immortalization has been considered for a long time as a classic hallmark of cancer cells. Besides telomerase reactivation, such immortalization could be due to telomere maintenance through the “alternative mechanism of telomere lengthening” (ALT) but the mechanisms underlying both forms of reactivation remained elusive. Mutations in the coding region of telomerase gene are very rare in the cancer setting, despite being associated with some degenerative diseases. Recently, mutations in telomerase (TERT) gene promoter were found in sporadic and familial melanoma and subsequently in several cancer models, notably in gliomas, thyroid cancer and bladder cancer. The importance of these findings has been reinforced by the association of TERT mutations in some cancer types with tumour aggressiveness and patient survival. In the first part of this review, we summarize the data on the biology of telomeres and telomerase, available methodological approaches and non-neoplastic diseases associated with telomere dysfunction. In the second part, we review the information on telomerase expression and genetic alterations in the most relevant types of cancer (skin, thyroid, bladder and central nervous system) on record, and discuss the value of telomerase as a new biomarker with impact on the prognosis and survival of the patients and as a putative therapeutic target

Using Genetic Panels to Predict Tenderness in Beef Cattle

Genetic panel use as a selection tool has grown in popularity in the beef industry. The objective of the study was to determine whether beef cattle genetically selected for tenderness generated a tender product. Igenity® (IT) panel results were provided by a cattle producer for 52 steers, which were harvested at a commercial harvest facility. Boneless strip loins (Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications #180; United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] Choice, n = 32; USDA Prime n = 20) were collected from the left side of each carcass and transported to the University of Idaho Meat Science Laboratory. Four steaks were cut from each subprimal and assigned to aging periods of 7, 14, and 21 d for Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) analysis or 21 d for consumer sensory analysis. Carcasses were assigned to tenderness groups based on their IT tenderness indexes (Low IT, 3–6, n = 30; High IT, 7–10, n = 22). Data were analyzed using the mixed model procedure of SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). An interaction was observed between tenderness group and USDA quality grade (P = 0.015) when analyzing WBSF. All of the cattle had less than 4.14 kg of WBSF; however, USDA Prime steers that were in the High IT tenderness group produced more tender steaks than High IT USDA Choice, Low IT USDA Prime, and Low IT USDA Choice steers. Consumers were not able to detect tenderness differences between IT tenderness groups (P = 0.11) or USDA quality grades (P = 0.11), but they found USDA Prime steaks to be more acceptable (P = 0.01), juicier (P = 0.01), and more flavorful (P = 0.02) than USDA Choice steaks. In conclusion, regardless of tenderness group, USDA Prime steaks were preferred by consumers over USDA Choice steaks in terms of flavor, juiciness, and acceptability

Assessing outcomes of genetic selection panels to predict marbling in crossbred beef cattle

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of genetic panel marbling indexes [Igenity (IT) and PredicGEN (PG)] to predict marbling and tenderness of crossbred cattle. Steers (n = 23) were harvested at the University of Idaho Meat Science Laboratory, and blood samples were submitted to Neogen and Zoetis for genetic panel analysis. Forty-eight hours postharvest, one boneless strip loin was collected from each carcass, and six 2.54-cm thick steaks were cut from each strip loin. Steaks were aged for 14 and 21 d and assigned to consumer sensory evaluation or Warner–Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) analysis. Results were analyzed using the Mixed Model procedure of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Carcasses were grouped by marbling index score into Low IT (IT indexes 3–6; n = 16; marbling score (MS) = 410), High IT (IT indexes 7–10; n = 7; MS = 496), Low PG (PG index \u3c50; n = 9; MS = 398), or High PG (PG index ≥50; n = 14; MS = 458). Mean MS was observed to be greater in High IT steaks than Low IT (P \u3c 0.01) and greater in High PG steaks than Low PG (P = 0.01). There was a trend observed in WBSF between IT marbling groups (P = 0.06); however, no difference in WBSF was observed between PG marbling groups (P = 0.83). Consumers did not report differences between IT marbling groups in terms of acceptability (P = 0.99) or tenderness (P = 0.24). Additionally, consumers could not detect differences between PG marbling groups in terms of acceptability (P = 0.75) or tenderness (P = 0.40). Consumers consistently preferred Choice steaks over Select steaks in terms of acceptability (P = 0.02) and tenderness (P = 0.02). In conclusion, though consumers were not able to tell the difference between steaks from each of the genetic panels, using genetic panels to predict marbling, in conjunction with proper nutrition and handling practices, could be a beneficial tool to producers making decisions about retaining ownership at the feedlot