REVIEW article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1566553
This article is part of the Research TopicGenetic Dissection of Meat Quality and Production Performance in PigView all articles
Integrative genetic and epigenetic control of skeletal muscle fiber traits in agricultural animals
Provisionally accepted
- State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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Skeletal muscle fiber traits are fundamental to meat production and the meat quality of agricultural animals. The rich genetic resources and diverse phenotypic expression of muscle traits in agricultural animal species provide invaluable materials for investigating the genetic and molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying myofiber development and characteristics, optimizing breeding strategies, and developing models for human muscle-related diseases. This review presents an integrative perspective on the genetic and epigenetic regulation of skeletal muscle fiber development, incorporating evolutionary, genomic, epigenomic, and multi-omics insights. We focus on genetic architecture and causative or candidate genes for muscle fiber traits, as revealed by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and selective sweep signatures, underscoring their adaptive significance and potential for selective breeding. The role of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, in linking genetic variation and phenotypic expression is also discussed. By synthesizing multi-omic data, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the molecular networks driving muscle fiber growth and differentiation. This review aims to consolidate current knowledge and offer actionable insights to advance research, breeding strategies, and applications in agricultural and biomedical fields.
Keywords: Agricultural animal, Myofiber development, meat quality, Regulation mechanism, epigenetic
Received: 25 Jan 2025; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chang and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Junwu Ma, State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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