Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-24T22:49:22.864Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of maternal undernutrition on muscle fibre type in the newborn lamb

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

A.J. Fahey ,
J.M. Brameld ,
T. Parr  and
P.J. Buttery
A.J. Fahey*
Affiliation:
Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, The University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, U.K.
J.M. Brameld
Affiliation:
Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, The University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, U.K.
T. Parr
Affiliation:
Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, The University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, U.K.
P.J. Buttery
Affiliation:
Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, The University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, U.K.
*
Email:sbxajf@nottingham.ac.uk
Get access

Extract

Muscle fibre type can influence meat quality (Maltin et al 1997). Muscle fibre formation occurs during gestation and in the sheep the total number of fibres in a muscle is essentially fixed at birth. (Ashmere et al 1972). Postnatal growth of muscle is entirely due to elongation and widening of the existing muscle fibres. Therefore the gestational period is important in the long-term growth potential of the animal. By investigating changes in muscle fibre type, the aim of this study was to test the general hypothesis that the poor carcass quality sometimes seen in ruminant animals may be due to poor nutrition at strategic time points during the animal’s development. As agricultural practices continue to become more extensive, variation in the nutrient supply to the animal is becoming more common. Therefore it is important to understand the effect of any changes in nutrient supply to the mother, during gestation on the subsequent muscle development of the fetus and ultimately the effects on meat quality.

Type
ISAE/BSAS
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2003 , 2003 , pp. 60
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AFRC (1993) Energy and protein requirements of ruminants. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon.Google Scholar
Ashmere, C.R., Robinson, D.W., Rattray, P., and Doerr, L. (1972) Biphasic development of muscle fibres in the foetal lamb Experimental. Neurology. 37: 241–255.Google Scholar
Fahey, AJ., Brameld, JM., Parr, T., Buttery, PJ. (2003) Ontogeny of factors thought to control the development of ovine muscle in utero These proceedings. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maltin, CA., Warkup, C.C., Matthews, KR., Grant, CM., Porter, AD., Delday, MI. (1997) Pig muscle fibre characteristics as a source of variation in eating quality Meat Science 47: 237–248.Google Scholar