Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproduction and production performance and meat quality characteristics of KBF4, a crossbreed of South African Kalaha (SK) and Guizhou black (GB) goats (5/11 SK lineage and 11/16 GB lineage), which was developed through molecular breeding and hybridization after four generations of breeding in six years. KBF4 showed overall improved production performance and meat quality, which were between those of its parents. The lambing rate (LR), survival rate (SR), daily weight gain (DWG) during the first three months of age, adult body weight (ABW), and dressing percentage (DP) of KBF4 were 195.0%, 95.3%, 275.5 g, 55.8 kg, and 53.5%, respectively. The pH of the meat of KBF4 was higher than that of its parents, which corroborated the meat of KBF4 had lower drip loss (DL) and moisture content (MC). In addition, the meat of KBF4 showed decreased ash content of decreased and increased contents of crude protein (CP) and intramuscular fat (IMF) compared with the parents. The amino acid score of the meat of KBF4 was lower than that of its parents, but the amino acid composition and the taste profile were basically consistent with those of SK, and KBF4 was slightly inferior to GB in terms of sweet and umami taste. The contents of essential fatty acids (EFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased in the meat of KBF4 compared with its parents, and the contents of beneficial fatty acids including oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenioc acid (DHA) increased compared with GB. The hypocholesterolemic fatty acid (DFA) values of KBF4 increased significantly, while the arteriosclerosis index (AI), thrombosis index (TI), and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio decreased significantly compared with those of GB, indicating a reduced cardiovascular disease risk. The major factors influencing the meat quality of KBF4 and its parents included DWG, MUFA, taste-active amino acids (AA), SFA, MC, EFA, PUFA, ABW, DP, CP, DL, IMF, and aromatic AA. In conclusion, KBF4 exhibited greatly improved production efficiency and enhanced meat quality in terms of tenderness, juiciness, and nutrition. Its amino acid and fatty acid composition was more similar to that of SK overall.

Key words: Guizhou black goat; South Africa Kahala goat; hybridization; production performance; meat quality characteristics