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Number of fibres in the skeletal muscle of miniature pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

N. C. Stickland  and
G. Goldspink
N. C. Stickland
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University, Hull
G. Goldspink
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University, Hull
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Extract

There is evidence that selection for small body size in mice results in a decrease in the total number of muscle fibres in a given muscle (Luff & Goldspink, 1967; Hanrahan, Hooper & McCarthy, 1973). It has also been shown that small chickens have fewer muscle fibres in certain muscles than larger chickens (Smith, 1963). This type of work has not, however, been extended to a study of the larger domestic animals. At Göttingen in Germany, Haring et al. (1966) have developed a breed of miniature pig which, at 6 months of age, was about a third of the body weight of commercial pigs. We therefore decided to investigate the muscles of these miniature pigs and compare them with commercial pig muscles, paying particular attention to the number of muscle fibres.

Type
Short Note
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , August 1978 , pp. 255 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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References

Hanrahan, J. P., Hooper, A. C. & McCarthy, J. C. (1973). Effects of divergent selection for body weight on fibre number and diameter in two mouse muscles. Animal Production 16, 7–16.Google Scholar
Haring, F., Gruhn, E., Smidt, D. & Scheven, B. (1966). Miniature swine development for laboratory purposes. In Swine in Biomedical Research (ed. Bustad, L. K. and McClellan, R. O.), pp. 789–796. Washington: Battelle Memorial Institute.Google Scholar
Luff, A. R. & Goldspink, G. (1967). Large and small muscles. Life Sciences 6, 1821–1826.Google Scholar
Smith, J. H. (1963). Kelation of body size to muscle cell size and number in the chicken. Poultiy Science 42, 283–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stickland, N. C. & Goldspink, G. (1973). A possible indicator muscle for the fibre content and growth characteristics of porcine muscle. Animal Production 16, 135–146.Google Scholar