21 INTRODUCTION The 2011 National Beef Quality Audit assessed the status and progress made toward improving qual- ity and consistency of U.S. cattle, carcasses, and beef products (Igo et al., 2013). The only quality category identifed by packers, food service buyers, and retail- ers for which those sectors are willing to pay a pre- mium was “eating satisfaction.” Tenderness, juici- ness, and favor are the major determinants of beef palatability and are often used to measure eating sat- isfaction. Eating satisfaction is of great interest to the beef industry as improving these traits should lead to increased beef demand. The beef industry has relied on marbling scores as a major driver to determine USDA quality grades and pricing of carcasses at wholesale level, with higher quality grades expected to correspond to more tender and palatable meat. Consumers also perceive marbling as an indicator of tenderness and overall meat quality, with consumer acceptance increasing Genetic parameters for sensory traits in longissimus muscle and their associa- tions with tenderness, marbling score, and intramuscular fat in Angus cattle 1 R. G. Mateescu,* 2 D. J. Garrick,† A. J. Garmyn,‡ D. L. VanOverbeke,§ G. G. Maf,§ and J. M. Reecy† *Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611; †Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames 50011; ‡Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 79409; and §Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078 ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to estimate heritabilities for sensory traits and genetic correlations among sensory traits and with marbling score (MS), Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and intramuscular fat content (IMFC). Samples of LM from 2,285 Angus cattle were obtained and fabricated into steaks for laboratory analysis and 1,720 steaks were analyzed by a trained sensory panel. Restricted maximum likelihood procedures were used to obtain estimates of variance and covariance components under a multitrait animal model. Estimates of heri- tability for MS, IMFC, WBSF, tenderness, juiciness, and connective tissue traits were 0.67, 0.38, 0.19, 0.18, 0.06, and 0.25, respectively. The genetic correlations of MS with tenderness, juiciness, and connective tis- sue were estimated to be 0.57 ± 0.14, 1.00 ± 0.17, and 0.49 ± 0.13, all positive and strong. Estimated genetic correlations of IMFC with tenderness, juiciness, and connective tissue were 0.56 ± 0.16, 1.00 ± 0.21, and 0.50 ± 0.15, respectively. The genetic correlations of WBSF with tenderness, juiciness, and connective tis- sue were all favorable and estimated to be –0.99 ± 0.08, –0.33 ± 0.30 and –0.99 ± 0.07, respectively. Strong and positive genetic correlations were esti- mated between tenderness and juiciness (0.54 ± 0.28) and between connective tissue and juiciness (0.58 ± 0.26). In general, genetic correlations were large and favorable, which indicated that strong relationships exist and similar gene and gene networks may control MS, IMFC, and juiciness or WBSF, panel tenderness, and connective tissue. The results from this study confrm that MS currently used in selection breeding programs has positive genetic correlations with ten- derness and juiciness and, therefore, is an effective indicator trait for the improvement of tenderness and juiciness in beef. This study also indicated that a more objective measure, particularly WBSF, a trait not easy to improve through phenotypic selection, is an excel- lent candidate trait for genomic selection aimed at improving eating satisfaction. Key words: beef, genetic parameters, marbling score, sensory traits, tenderness © 2015 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. J. Anim. Sci. 2015.93:21–27 doi:10.2527/jas2014-8405 1 This research was supported by Zoetis Animal Genetics. 2 Corresponding author: raluca@uf.edu Received August 13, 2014. Accepted October 28, 2014. Published March 3, 2015