Effects of Histamine-N-methyltransferase-like (HNMT-like) gene polymorphisms on the anserine and carnosine content in chicken breast meat

Munyaneza, Jean; Kim, Minjun; Cho, Eunjin; Jang, Aera; Jo, Cheorun; Nam, Ki-Chang; Choo, Hyo Jun; Lee, Jun Heon

doi:10.5187/jast.2400225

J Anim Sci Technol

pISSN: 2672-0191, eISSN: 2055-0391

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5187/jast.2400225

Article

Effects of Histamine-N-methyltransferase-like (HNMT-like) gene polymorphisms on the anserine and carnosine content in chicken breast meat

Jean Munyaneza¹, Minjun Kim¹, Eunjin Cho², Aera Jang³, Cheorun Jo⁴, Ki-Chang Nam⁵, Hyo Jun Choo⁶^,^*, Jun Heon Lee¹^,²^,^**

Author Information & Copyright ▼

¹Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea.

²Department of Bio-AI Convergence, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea.

³Department of Applied Animal Science, College of Animal Life Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.

⁴Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.

⁵Department of Animal Science and Technology, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea.

⁶Poultry Research Institute, National Institute of Animal Science, Pyeongchang 25342, Korea.

^*Corresponding Author: Hyo Jun Choo, Poultry Research Institute, National Institute of Animal Science, Pyeongchang 25342, Korea, Republic of. Phone: +82-33-330-9540. E-mail: hyojy@korea.kr.

^**Corresponding Author: Jun Heon Lee, Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea, Republic of. Department of Bio-AI Convergence, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea, Republic of. Phone: +82-42-821-5779. E-mail: junheon@cnu.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2025 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jul 05, 2024; Revised: Aug 31, 2024; Accepted: Aug 08, 2025

Published Online: Aug 19, 2025

Abstract

Anserine is an abundant peptide in chicken meat and influences the meat flavor. The content of anserine in meat as other flavor precursors is influenced by many genes as well as environmental factors. This study aimed to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the <italic>HNMT-like</italic> gene and assess their possible associations with the content of anserine in the red-brown Korean native chicken (KNC-R). We used three hundred and eighty-four chickens (males, n=192; females, n=192) aged 10 weeks old to genotype three synonymous SNPs (rs317607580C>T, rs316762204A>G and rs316857074A>G) in <italic>HNMT-like</italic> gene by using PACE genotyping technology. We used a two-way ANOVA of the R program to test the effects of the <italic>HNMT–like</italic> genotypes on the content of anserine in KNC-R. We found a significant association (<italic>p</italic><0.05) between the genotypes of the synonymous SNP: rs316762204A>G and the content of the anserine in KNC-R. The synonymous SNP: rs316762204A>G of the <italic>HNMT-like</italic> gene might be used as a genetic marker in the selection and breeding of chickens with desired flavored meat.

Keywords: Anserine; flavor precursor; Korean native chicken; HNMT-like gene; Meat flavor