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Carcass composition, bone mechanical properties, and meat quality traits in relation to growth rate in rabbits¹

F. Gondret^*,2, C. Larzul, S. Combes and H. de Rochambeau

^* Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Systèmes d’Elevage, Nutrition Animale et Humaine (SENAH), 35590 Saint-Gilles, France; and INRA, Station d’Amélioration Génétique des Animaux, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; and and INRA, Station de Recherches Cunicoles, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France

² Correspondence: Domaine de la Prise (phone: +33 223-48-5752; fax: +33 223-48-5080; e-mail:Florence.Gondret{at}rennes.inra.fr).

The objective of this study was to characterize correlated responses in carcass composition, bone mechanical properties, and meat quality indicators to divergent selection for growth rate. Rabbits from low (LOW) or high (HIGH) lines divergently selected over five generations on 63-d BW and a control group (CONT) were used. Rabbits were slaughtered at an average BW of 2,306 ± 65 g, corresponding to 63, 58, or 52 d of age in LOW (n = 41), CONT (n = 43), and HIGH (n = 44) groups, respectively. Postweaning ADG and G:F increased (P < 0.001) in the order LOW < CONT < HIGH groups. The lengths of the tibia and femur in rabbit legs decreased (P < 0.001) with increasing growth rate. Tibia and femur bone intrinsic stiffness, as assessed by a three-point flexure test, followed the order (P < 0.001) of HIGH < CONT < LOW groups. At the same BW, HIGH rabbits and CONT rabbits showed many similarities for dressing percent, carcass composition, and color and chemical composition of muscles or meat parts. In contrast, carcass yield and the relative proportion of hind part were 3% greater (P < 0.01) in LOW rabbits than in CONT and HIGH rabbits. The meat-to-bone ratio in the hind leg was 11% greater (P < 0.001) in the LOW group compared with the CONT and HIGH groups. Yellow color index and moisture content in LM, a fast-twitch glycolytic muscle, were lower (P < 0.05) in LOW rabbits than in HIGH rabbits, but ultimate pH, WHC, and cooking loss did not differ between the two growth-selected lines. Ultimate pH in semitendinosus, a mixed slow- and fast-twitch oxidoglycolytic muscle, was less (P < 0.001) in HIGH rabbits than in CONT and LOW rabbits. However, lactate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities in this muscle (n = 21 per group), assessed at the time of slaughter as markers of glycolytic and oxidative capacities, respectively, did not differ among groups. Growth rate did not modify mean cross-sectional area and type frequency of myofibers in semitendinosus muscle. Finally, Warner-Bratzler shear force and total energy needed to achieve rupture did not differ among groups in semitendinosus muscle (n = 21 per group), whereas they were the least (P < 0.001) in LM (n = 128) from HIGH rabbits. Results from this study indicate that improvement of growth rate by selection has little effect in rabbit carcass and meat quality traits.

Key Words: Bone Resistance • Carcass Composition • Growth Rate • Meat Quality • Muscle Fibers • Rabbits