MSTN modification in goat mediated by TALENs and performance analysis.

Area of Science:

• Animal Genetics
• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth.
• MSTN gene mutations lead to
• double muscle
• phenotypes, increasing muscle content.
• MSTN is a key target for improving livestock meat quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate cloned goats with a
• double muscle
• phenotype by targeting the MSTN gene.
• To establish a method for creating MSTN gene-mutant goats via TALENs and somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Main Methods:

• Goat MSTN gene was modified using TALENs in fetal fibroblasts.
• Mutant cell lines were selected and verified by PCR and sequencing.
• Somatic cell nuclear transfer was performed using MSTN-mutant cells to produce cloned goats.

Main Results:

• TALENs technology achieved a 79.0% mutation efficiency in goat MSTN gene.
• Two cloned goats with MSTN gene mutations (biallelic and non-homozygous) were successfully produced.
• Cloned goats exhibited enhanced muscle characteristics and healthy growth, with increased body weight compared to wild-type goats.

Conclusions:

• TALENs technology can efficiently generate MSTN gene-mutant goat cell lines.
• Somatic cell nuclear transfer successfully produced cloned goats with desired
• double muscle
• phenotypes.
• This study provides a foundation for breeding
• double muscle
• goats and a model for other transgenic animal applications.