AUTHOR=Pei Yangli , Fan Ziyao , Song Yuxin , Chen Chujie , Mu Yulian , Li Bugao , Feng Zheng , Li Hua , Li Kui 

TITLE=Viscera Characteristics of MSTN-Edited Heterozygous Pigs

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.764965

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.764965

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Myostatin (MSTN) is a protein that negatively regulates growth of skeletal muscle, and inactivation of myostatin improves the mass of skeletal muscle. Pigs with a naturally occurring single copy MSTN mutation have higher muscle depth and lower fat depth compared to wild type. Therefore, MSTN-edited pigs are most likely to appear as heterozygotes in the potential future market, but the visceral development of pigs with MSTN gene editing remains unclear. Here, we investigated the histological morphology of the viscera in MSTN gene heterozygotes at newborn and adult stages. The sizes and weights or length of organs were further compared between adult heterozygous and wild type pigs. We found no significant differences in histomorphology of major organs between individuals from two genotypes at newborn and adult stages. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the size and average weights or length of visceral organs in adult pigs. Our data provide a reference for further clarifying the applications of MSTN gene edited pigs.