Identification and Characterization of a Non-muscular Myostatin in the Nile Tilapia.

The growth and differentiation factor Myostatin (MSTN, also known as GDF8) negatively regulates skeletal muscle development and growth in vertebrates. Most fish genomes contain two or more genes, which are expressed in muscle and other tissues. Yet, in the genome of Nile tilapia (), which is one of the world's most important aquaculture fish species, only one gene has previously been identified.