Comparison of internal organs between myostatin mutant and wild-type piglets.

Background: Myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates skeletal muscle development; however, its functions in internal organs have not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we compared the morphological, molecular, and biological characteristics of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and tongue of homozygous MSTN mutant (MSTN ), heterozygous MSTN mutant (MSTN ), and wild-type (WT) piglets.

Results: The heart and liver were lighter in MSTN piglets than in MSTN piglets, while the tongue was heavier in MSTN piglets than in WT piglets (P < 0.

Semen quality and fertilization ability of myostatin-knockout boars.

There is no data currently available on the semen quality and fertility of myostatin-knockout (MSTN) boars. We showed that sexually mature adult homozygous MSTN mutant boars have an obvious "double muscling" phenotype, along with a MSTN boar head, back, abdomen, eyes, and oral cavity. Additionally, no abnormalities were found in the reproductive organs.

Shift from slow- to fast-twitch muscle fibres in skeletal muscle of newborn heterozygous and homozygous myostatin-knockout piglets.

Myostatin (MSTN) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily that negatively regulates skeletal muscle development. A lack of MSTN induces muscle hypertrophy and increases formation of fast-twitch (Type II) muscle fibres. This study investigated muscle development in newborn heterozygous (MSTN+/-) and homozygous (MSTN-/-) MSTN-knockout piglets.

Baicalin improves IVM of pig oocytes and subsequent preimplantation embryo development by inhibiting apoptosis.

Baicalin, a monomer of flavonoids extracted from dried roots of Scutellaria baicalensis, is used to treat female infertility. However, the effect of baicalin on oocyte maturation is unknown. In this study we investigated the effects of baicalin on the IVM of pig oocytes and subsequent embryo development following parthenogenetic activation (PA).

Effect of different soybean meal type on ileal digestibility of amino acid in weaning pigs.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibilities of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) with 6 soybean products in weaning pigs. A total of 14 weaning barrows with an initial body weight of 6.54 ± 0.