Chicken meat quality: genetics, pre-slaughter and nutrition factors

Abstract

The chicken meat production in Brazil is an important aspect of the agribusiness that will benefit from markets expansion and maintenance which are related to the quality of the meat. Chicken genetics and nutrition, their interactions added to pre-slaughter stress are important factors and they should be considered as a whole aiming at the identification of physiological and biochemical variables in the obtainment of chicken meat with optimal functional properties. The present project intends to evaluate biochemical changes that are detrimental to chicken meat quality due to pre-slaughter stress and nutritional strategies suficient to mitigate or eleminate those changes. The centesimal composition, chemical and functional properties of chicken meat will be determined and results related with biochemical analyses. At the same time, molecular studies of genetic expression will be led with validation in real time PCR, in order to identify genes differentialy expressed in stress conditions and related with meat quality, concluding a multidisciplinary approach of important factors considered in the chicken meat productive chain. (AU)