Physiological aspects and structures that influence the development of muscle tissue

Abstract

The objective of this review will address the mechanisms responsible for the growth and development of muscle tissue, the prenatal stage to the final development of the animal and its impact on production and meat quality. In studies of production of beef cattle, knowledge of factors that determine growth and tissue development are extremely important to the adequacy of nutrition programs, setting the age at slaughter, ambiance and other factors, they may determine the amount and the quality of meat produced mainly the relationship between intramuscular fat and muscle. Understanding the growth and development of muscle tissue is a major goal in livestock production, especially when it concerns the production of meat. Muscle mass is largely determined by the number of muscle fibers and the size of these fibers. Several studies suggest that animals with larger numbers of muscle fibers of medium size produce meat in larger quantities and better quality. It is during myogenesis, which is the great multiplication of muscle cells, thus determining how many muscle fibers are formed. Then, the number of muscle fibers is primarily determined by genetic and environmental factors that are likely to affect the myogenesis prenatal.