Lipid Deposition in Beef Cattle

Authors

• Kyra L. Elliott, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Jessie C. Morrill

Committee Members

James MacDonald, Keara O’Reilly

Date of this Version

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Animal Science

Under the supervision of Professor Jessie C. Morrill

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Kyra L. Elliott. Used by permission

Abstract

Both the amount and types of lipid deposition in beef cattle are key determinants of carcass value and meat quality. Amounts of intramuscular, subcutaneous, and visceral fat influence carcass grading outcomes, palatability, and composition traits that are important to beef producers as well as consumers. The objectives of this thesis were to: 1) compare beef grading camera estimates of intramuscular fat to amounts of chemically extractable lipid, 2) characterize the lipidomes of beef intramuscular fat, subcutaneous fat, and lean muscle using shotgun lipidomics, and 3) identify and characterize a novel genetic variant in cattle that may have important implications for lipid metabolism and heat tolerance in beef cattle and meat quality traits. The objectives of this thesis were accomplished in three independent studies. The first study compared camera-grading system estimates of marbling to amounts of chemically extractable intramuscular fat in longissimus thoracis muscle. The second study characterized the lipidomes of intramuscular adipose tissue, subcutaneous adipose tissue, and lean muscle dissected from the longissimus lumborummuscle. The final study was a pilot experiment designed to determine the impact of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the transient receptor potential vanilloid one (TRPV1) gene on meat quality attributes. Collectively, these studies advanced the understanding of methods of quantify lipids in beef using grading camera technologies, using advanced laboratory methods such as shotgun lipidomics, and have identified a novel genetic variant in beef cattle that may have important implications on lipid metabolism and meat quality attributes.

Advisor: Jessie C. Morrill