Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Animal Science

Advisor/Mentor

Dr. Derico Setyabrata

Committee Member

Dr.Derico Setyabrata

Second Committee Member

Dr. Morgan Denzer

Third Committee Member

Dr. Janeal Yancey

Abstract

Endophyte-infected tall, toxic fescue is the most common forage for beef cattle in the southeastern U.S. However, exposure to this forage causes detrimental effects on the health of gestating cattle. The exposure to toxic fescue during gestation has been shown to impact fetal development during pregnancy and their offspring’s subsequent growth. However, limited information is currently available on the impact of this exposure on the meat quality of the offspring. Our objective is to determine how the dam’s exposure to toxic fescue during gestation impacts the beef color and quality of the final offspring.

A total of 22 animals (11 from offspring of dams exposed to toxic fescue [TOX] and 11 from offspring of dams not exposed to toxic fescue [NONTOX]) were followed throughout weaning until harvest in a commercial facility. Prior to transportation to the feedlot, muscle biopsies were collected for muscle growth gene expression. Following harvest, a section of striploin was collected from all carcasses, cut into three equal pieces and randomly assigned into 3 different wet-aging durations: 1) no additional aging, 2) aged to 7 days, and 3) aged to 14 days. When the designated aging time was reached, the samples were assessed for pH, instrumental color, and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI).

The current results demonstrate that exposure to toxic fescue during gestation has minimal impact on the meat quality of the calf. Similar meat color quality was observed regardless of the feeding regime, although the duration of aging impacted color quality. Wet aging causes the meat to lose moisture which goes to the surface and makes the meat appear lighter as it reflects the light. The pH was not impacted by treatment and aging period effect. TOX tended to have a higher expression of Pax7 compared to the NONTOX. MFI was not influenced by the main effects and their interaction, however the TOX numbers were higher than the NONTOX, which may suggest that there is less degradation of the myofibrils in the meat from the animals that were fed TOX. Our results suggest that toxic fescue consumption during gestation minimally impacts the calf’s final meat quality.

Keywords

Toxic Fescue, Aging, bloom color, pax7, offspring, Meat Quality

Download

Share

COinS