Piedmontese cattle: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Breed of cattle}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}

{{use list-defined references|date=July 2013}}

{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}

{{Infobox cattle breed

| name = Piedmontese

| image = Race piemontaise.JPG

| image_alt = A white cow with a bell on her neck

| image_caption = A Piedmontese cow on Alpine pasture near [[Castelmagno]]

| status =

| altname = Piemontese

| country = Italy: [[Piemonte]] region

| distribution = world-wide

| standard = [http://www.anaborapi.it/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44:standard-of-the-breed&catid=5:the-piemontese-breed&Itemid=7 ANABORAPI] (Italy)

| use = {{unbulleted list|Formerly triple-purpose, draught, meat and milk |now raised primarily for meat}}

| nickname =

| maleweight = 700–850 kg<ref name=bigi/>

| femaleweight = 520–550 kg<ref name=bigi/>

| maleheight = 130–135 cm<ref name=bigi/>

| femaleheight = 131–132 cm<ref name=bigi/>

| skincolor =

| coat = white or wheaten with grey shading; black skin and switch

| horn = horned

| subspecies =

| note =

}}

[[image:Piemonteser Bulle.jpg|thumbnail|A Piedmontese bull]]

The '''Piedmontese''' ({{lang-it|'''Piemontese'''|italic=no}} or {{lang|it|'''razza bovina Piemontese'''}}) is a [[breed]] of domestic cattle that originated in the region of [[Piedmont]], in north-west Italy. The calves are born [[fawn (colour)|fawn coloured]], and turn grey-white as they mature. Piedmontese cattle carry a unique gene mutation identified as an inactive [[myostatin]] [[allele]] that causes [[hypertrophic]] muscle growth, or [[double muscling]]. [[Purebred]] Piedmontese cattle are [[homozygous]], meaning they have two identical alleles present for this unique gene. They have garnered attention from breeders of beef cattle in other parts of the world, including North and South America. A small group of select Piedmontese bulls and cows were imported into Canada in the late 1970s, and into the United States in the early 1980s, and were used as the foundation breeding stock to develop a new breed of beef cattle known as [[North American Piedmontese cattle]].

==History==

Until the late nineteenth century there were numerous local types of Piedmontese cattle, including the Canavese, the Della Langa, the Demonte, the Ordinario di Pianura and the Scelta di Pianura. They were triple-purpose cattle, raised principally for [[draught animal|draught power]], but valued also for meat and milk. A [[Breed registry|herd-book]] was opened in 1877,<ref name="Breed">{{cite web | url=http://www.piemontais.ca/english_pages/thebreed.html | title=The Breed | publisher=Canadian Piedmontese Association | accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref> [[selective breeding]] towards a dual-purpose type began, and the Piedmontese became relatively uniform in character. The postpartum hypertrophic muscle growth characteristic, known as "''groppa di cavallo''" or "horse rump", first appeared in 1886 in the [[comune]] of [[Guarene d'Alba]]. It was not in accordance with the then breed standard, and only later attracted the interest of breeders and scientists.<ref name=bigi/>

At the beginning of the twentieth century there were about 680,000 Piedmontese cattle in Italy; by 1985 this had fallen to about 600,000.<ref name=bigi/> In 1957 the number registered in the herd-book was 851; by the end of 2011 it had risen to 267,243.<ref name=aia/> In 2008 the total number in Italy was estimated at 300,000, of which 230,000 were registered.<ref name=bigi/>

==Use==

In Italy, the Piedmontese is a dual-purpose breed: the cattle are raised for their [[milk]], which is used in the production of several traditional cheeses of the region, including [[Castelmagno (cheese)|Castelmagno]], [[Bra (cheese)|Bra]], [[Raschera]], and [[Toma Piemontese]];<ref name="anaborapi"/><ref name="Oklahoma"/> and are also raised for meat, as [[beef]] from Piedmontese cattle is seen as a premium product.<ref name="Oklahoma">{{cite web |author=Department of Animal Science, [[Oklahoma State University]] |title=Piedmontese |work=Breeds of Livestock |url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/piedmontese/index.htm |publisher=Oklahoma State University Board of Regents |date=1994{{ndash}}2005 |accessdate=24 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617215606/http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/piedmontese/index.htm |archive-date=17 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Muscular hypertrophy==

<!-- NOT what the source says In the [[United States]], Piedmontese beef is regulated by the [[USDA]], which requires that organisations involved in the sale of Piedmontese beef meet labelling and nutritional verification requirements. -->Piedmontese beef is meat from cattle having one or two copies of the ''inactive'' [[myostatin]] gene. This attribute provides a higher lean-to-fat ratio, as well as less [[Marbled meat|marbling]] with less connective tissue than meat from cattle having the "active" version of the gene.<ref name="wheeler"/> The active-myostatin gene acts as a "governor" on muscle growth; myostatin is a protein that instructs muscles to stop growing. In effect, when inactive, as it is with Piedmontese cattle, it no longer prevents muscle development which is what allows for the hypertrophic condition sometimes referred to as "double muscling".<ref name="napa"/>

Animal breeds developed as [[homozygous]] for myostatin deficiency may have reproduction problems due to their unusually heavy and bulky offspring, and require a more expensive diet and special care, including veterinary supervision. These factors may make it uneconomic to raise them. Piedmontese beef has a place in the specialist market because of its unusual properties, but may be at a disadvantage in the bulk market.<ref name=smet/>

== See also ==

* [[Belgian Blue]]

{{reflist|refs=

<ref name=aia>[http://www.aia.it/CMSContent/RelazionePresidente2011_sito.pdf Quadro economico e relazione attività 2011] (in Italian). Associazione Italiana Allevatori. p.&nbsp;98. Accessed May 2014.</ref>

<ref name=anaborapi>[http://www.anaborapi.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:razza-bovina-piemontese&catid=5:piemontese-presenta&Itemid=7 La Razza bovina Piemontese] (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini di Razza Piemontese (ANABORAPI). Accessed July 2013.</ref>

<ref name=bigi>Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). ''Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia'' (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. {{ISBN|9788850652594}}. p.&nbsp;54–55.</ref>

<ref name=napa>[http://www.piedmontese.org/Beef%20Attributes.html Piedmontese, the Myostatin Breed: Beef Attributes]. The North American Piedmontese Cattle Association (NAPA). Accessed July 2013.</ref>

<ref name=smet>Stefaan De Smet (2004). Double-muscled animals. ''Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences''. Eds. W.K. Jensen, C. Devine & M. Dikeman. Oxford: Elsevier. {{doi|10.1016/B0-12-464970-X/00260-9}}. p.&nbsp;396–402.</ref>

<ref name=wheeler>T.L. Wheeler, S.D. Shackelford, E. Casas, L.V. Cundiff and M. Koohmaraie (December 2001). [http://www.animal-science.org/content/79/12/3069.full.pdf The effects of Piedmontese inheritance and myostatin genotype on the palatability of longissimus thoracis, gluteus medius, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris]. ''Journal of Animal Science'' '''79''' (12): 3069–74. {{PMID|11811461}}.</ref>

}}

{{Commons category-inline|Piedmontese cattle}}

{{Cattle breeds of Italy}}

[[Category:Cattle breeds originating in Italy]]

[[Category:Piedmont]]

[[Category:Beef cattle breeds]]

[[Category:Grey cattle]]