PSV-25 Mitochondrial function of skeletal muscle early postmortem is influenced by cattle breed and temperature

Functional properties and integrity of skeletal muscle mitochondria during the early postmortem period may influence development of meat quality traits, such as tenderness. Angus typically produce more tender beef than Brahman, a Bos taurus indicus subspecies known for heat tolerance. Thus, our objectives were to assess mitochondrial function in muscle collected early postmortem from Angus and Brahman cattle; and to evaluate the effect of normal and elevated temperature on mitochondria function. Longissimus lumborum was collected at 1h postmortem from Angus and Brahman steers, and high resolution respirometry was used to assess mitochondrial function in permeabilized muscle fibers at two temperatures (38.5 and 40.0°C). The main effects of breed, temperature, and their interaction were tested. On a tissue weight basis, parameters of respiratory function were not influenced by breed or temperature, though Brahman exhibited numerically greater values for respiration supported by complex I, complex I+II, and complex II substrates. Citrate synthase activity, a marker of mitochondria content, was affected by breed (P = 0.049). Consequently, oxygen consumption rate (OCR) data were normalized to citrate synthase activity. After normalization for mitochondrial content, the overall mitochondria OCR pattern changed, revealing differences among breeds for proton leak respiration (P = 0.045), as well as a persistent interaction effect primarily related to reduced OCR in mitochondria from Brahman at 40.0°C. In addition, the ratio of OCR for leak relative to complex I+II phosphorylation was lower in Brahman, evidencing greater coupling. However, mean coupling ratios for both Angus and Brahman support that respiration and phosphorylation were well-coupled for both breeds even at 1h postmortem. Thus, mitochondria retain functional capacity and integrity at 1h postmortem; and mitochondria properties may be related to differences in heat tolerance and meat quality development between cattle subspecies.