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Published on: October 25, 2015
Fetal programming of skeletal muscle development in ruminant animals
1Department of Animal Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. mindu@uwyo.edu
Journal of Animal Science
|September 1, 2009
Summary
Maternal nutrition impacts fetal muscle development, influencing offspring growth and meat quality. Understanding Wingless and Int (Wnt)/beta-catenin signaling is key to improving muscle growth and marbling in livestock.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Skeletal muscle growth is vital for meat production in animal agriculture.
- Maternal nutrition during gestation significantly influences fetal muscle development and long-term offspring performance.
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiate into muscle, fat, and fibrous tissues within fetal muscle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of Wingless and Int (Wnt)/beta-catenin signaling in regulating mesenchymal stem cell differentiation during fetal muscle development.
- To understand how maternal nutrient availability affects myogenesis and adipogenesis in offspring.
- To identify strategies for enhancing muscle growth and intramuscular fat deposition in livestock.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing experimental evidence on Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in MSC differentiation.
- Analysis of the impact of nutrient deficiency during different gestation periods on fetal muscle development.
- Examination of the relationship between Wnt/beta-catenin activity and myogenesis/adipogenesis.
Main Results:
- Wingless and Int (Wnt)/beta-catenin signaling is a key regulator of MSC differentiation towards myogenesis or adipogenesis.
- Upregulation of Wnt/beta-catenin promotes muscle cell development (myogenesis).
- Downregulation of Wnt/beta-catenin enhances fat cell development (adipogenesis), increasing marbling.
- Nutrient deficiency in early gestation reduces muscle fiber formation; deficiency in mid- to late gestation decreases adipocyte numbers and muscle fiber size.
Conclusions:
- Maternal nutrition status critically modulates fetal muscle and fat development via Wnt/beta-catenin signaling.
- Targeting Wnt/beta-catenin signaling offers a potential strategy to improve meat quality traits like marbling.
- Understanding these mechanisms is essential for developing interventions to enhance livestock growth and meat production, especially under suboptimal maternal nutrition.
