How Now, Most Muscular Cow
Have you ever seen those extremely large, muscular cows? These particular cows are called the Belgian Blue. The Belgian Blue are commonly referred to as having “double muscling”, which is evidence of extreme muscle hypertrophy during development and a marked reduction in body fat. Growth of calves is rapid, with some stating figure of 1.5kg per day and up to an extreme of 4.4kg per day. This trait was selected over 30 years by Professor Hanset, of university of Liege. The double muscling is due to the lack of Myostatin (GDF-8) gene, which is involved in the regulation of skeletal muscle. The Belgian Blue has an 11 nucleotide deletion of the third exon which causes a frameshift that effectively deactivates the myostatin gene.
The genetic contribution of understanding the role of mystatin in double muscling is of great significance. This is in terms of animal production and therapeutic benefit. Animal meat production often relies on quantity and quality of the meat. Disrupting the mystatin gene may have an application in creating larger quantities of lean meat in sheep, pigs and chickens which fulfil this need. The therapeutic benefit is found in treatment of disorders like muscular dystrophy, which result in muscular atrophy, often leading to death. Myostatin blocking drugs are now being developed as a possible aid to treatment of such disorders.
Primary reference:
McPherron, A.C., Lee, S. (1997). Double muscling in cattle due to mutations in myostatin gene. Genetics, 94, 12457-12461.
McPherron, A.C., Lee, S. (1997). Double muscling in cattle due to mutations in myostatin gene. Genetics, 94, 12457-12461.
