Aiello D, Patel K, Lasagna E
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UB, UK.
Anim Genet. 2018 Dec;49(6):505-519. doi: 10.1111/age.12696. Epub 2018 Aug 20.
Myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor 8, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta super-family, is a negative regulator of muscle development. Myostatin acts at key points during pre- and post-natal life of amniotes that ultimately determine the overall muscle mass of an animal. Mutations have already demonstrated the impact of attenuating myostatin activity on muscle development. A number of large animals, including cattle, sheep, dogs and humans, display the 'double muscled' phenotype due to mutations in the myostatin gene. Here, we firstly give an overview of the molecular pathways regulated by myostatin that control muscle development. Then we describe the natural mutations and their associated phenotypes as well as the physiological influence of altering myostatin expression in livestock animals (cattle, sheep, goat, horse, pig, rabbit and chicken). Knowledge of null alleles and polymorphisms in the myostatin gene are of great interest in the animal breeding field, and it could be utilized to improve meat production in livestock animals.
肌肉生长抑制素，也称为生长分化因子8，是转化生长因子-β超家族的成员，是肌肉发育的负调节因子。肌肉生长抑制素在羊膜动物出生前和出生后的关键时期发挥作用，最终决定动物的整体肌肉质量。突变已经证明了减弱肌肉生长抑制素活性对肌肉发育的影响。包括牛、羊、狗和人类在内的许多大型动物，由于肌肉生长抑制素基因的突变而表现出“双肌”表型。在这里，我们首先概述由肌肉生长抑制素调节的控制肌肉发育的分子途径。然后我们描述自然突变及其相关表型，以及改变家畜（牛、羊、山羊、马、猪、兔和鸡）中肌肉生长抑制素表达的生理影响。肌肉生长抑制素基因无效等位基因和多态性的知识在动物育种领域具有极大的研究价值，并且可用于提高家畜的肉类产量。
