Association study between variability in the SCD gene and the fatty acid profile in perirenal and intramuscular fat deposits from Spanish goat populations

• Four markers were detected in the SCD gene in Spanish goat breeds of two purposes.
• Significant association in early depot (perirenal) for both purposes was observed.
• Significant association in meat purpose goat was found in late one (intramuscular).

Despite the fact that goat meat is an important nutritive source throughout the world, aspects related to its characterization, and in particular genetic issues, have rarely been studied. Our objective was to assess the variability of the Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene in a sample of Spanish goat populations bred for both meat and dairy purposes and to look for possible associations between this genetic variability and the fatty acid composition in two fat deposits of industrial interest (perirenal and intramuscular). To do this, a goat population of 140 male suckling kids belonging to meat and dairy breeds was selected from farms in southern Spain. Four markers were detected in the SCD gene (SCD2, SCD3 172, SCD3 181, and SCD3 231) in the population, and significant associations were found between these markers and five individual fatty acids: C8:0, C11:0, C15:1, C16:1cis-9 and CLA 10 trans-12cis and two groups of fatty acids: SFA and MUFA. While significant associations in early (perirenal) fat depots for both dairy and meat purposes were observed, the only significant association in late (intramuscular) depots was found in goat kids bred for meat purposes. The SCD has been shown to be a useful gene to estimate the potential to show the different amounts of fatty acids in the fat of goat kids and use it in improvement programs which might provide an added value to goat meat and might help to produce a more competitive final product.