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Effects of maternal undernutrition on lamb carcass characteristics and muscle fibre composition at 17 and 24 weeks of age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

ZCTR Daniel*
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, United Kingdom
JM Brameld
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, United Kingdom
ND Scollan
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
PJ Buttery
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, United Kingdom
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Extract

We have previously shown that the majority of muscle differentiation and fibre formation in sheep takes place around d 85 of gestation, with myoblast proliferation mainly occurring before this time (Fahey et al., 2005a). In a second study (Fahey et al., 2005b), maternal nutrient restriction during the proliferation stage immediately before the period of major fibre formation (d30-70 gestation) resulted in a reduction in the numbers of fast fibres in 14 d lambs. Maternal undernutrition during (d55-95) and after (d85-115) major fibre formation did not alter the muscle fibre characteristics of 14 d lambs. The objective of the present study was to determine whether the changes in muscle fibre development seen previously in 14 d lambs from ewes undernourished from d 30 to 70 of gestation are still evident in older animals, and what the long term consequences are in relation to growth rates and carcass composition.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2007

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References

Fahey, A. J., Brameld, J. M., Parr, T., and Buttery, P. J. 2005a Ontogeny of factors associated with proliferation and differentiation of muscle in the ovine fetus. J. Anim. Sci 83:2330–2338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fahey, A. J., Brameld, J. M., Parr, T., and Buttery, P. J. 2005b. The effect of maternal under-nutrition prior to muscle differentiation on the muscle fiber development of the new-born lamb. J. Anim. Sci. 83:2564–2571.CrossRefGoogle Scholar