Muscle specific differences in the regulation of myogenic differentiation in chickens genetically selected for divergent growth rates.

With the human population predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050, increasing food supplies while maintaining adequate standards of animal welfare has become a global priority. In the poultry industry, broilers are genetically selected for greater pectoral but not leg muscularity yield leading to leg disorders and thereby welfare issues. It is known that the pectoralis major of broilers contains more muscle fibres of larger diameters than egg-layers but little is known about the leg gastrocnemius muscle cellular characteristics. As muscle fibre numbers are set by hatch, the molecular regulation of myogenesis was investigated in pectoral (selected) and gastrocnemius (unselected) muscles of chick embryos to help explain diverging post-hatch phenotypes. Results showed that broilers were more active from embryonic day (ED) 8 and heavier from ED12 to 18 than layers. The pectoral muscle of broilers exhibited increased myoblast proliferation on ED15 (raised myonuclei, MyoD and PCNA) followed by increased differentiation from ED16 (raised myogenin, IGF-I) leading to increased muscle fibre hyperplasia and mass by ED18 compared to layers. In the gastrocnemius muscle of broilers, cell proliferation was also raised up to ED15 accompanied by increased PCNA, MyoD and IGF-I mRNAs. However, from ED16, myogenin and IGF-I mRNAs were similar to that of layers and PCNA was reduced leading to similar fibre area, nuclei numbers and muscle mass at ED18. We conclude that genetic selection for enhanced post-hatch pectoral muscle growth has altered the temporal expression of IGF-I and thereby myogenin transcription affecting cellular characteristics and mass by hatch in a muscle specific manner. These observations should help develop intervention strategies aimed at improving leg muscle strength and thereby animal welfare to meet growing consumer demand.

In ovo temperature manipulation influences embryonic motility and growth of limb tissues in the chick (Gallus gallus).

The chick embryo, developing in the egg, is an ideal system in which to investigate the effects of incubation environment on the development of the embryo. We show that raising the temperature of the eggs by just one degree, from 37.5 degrees C to 38.5 degrees C, during embryonic days (ED) 4-7 causes profound changes in development. We demonstrate that embryonic movement is significantly increased in the chicks raised at 38.5 degrees C both during the period in which they are at the higher temperature but also 4 days after their return to the control temperature. Concomitant with this increase in embryonic activity, the embryos raised at higher temperature grow to significantly heavier weights and exhibit significantly longer leg bones (tibia and tarsus) than the controls from ED12 onwards, although mineralization occurs normally. Additionally, the number of leg myonuclei is increased from ED12 in the embryos raised at the higher temperature. This is likely to promote greater leg muscle growth later in development, which may provide postural stability to the chicks posthatch. These changes are similar to those seen when drugs are injected to increase embryonic activity. We therefore believe that the increased embryonic activity provides a mechanism that can explain the increased growth of leg muscle and bone seen when the eggs are incubated for 3 days at higher temperature.