• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.486-491
• /
• 2012

Myostatin (MSTN), a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta family, is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and maintenance. The MSTN prodomain inhibits MSTN biological activity. The rotifer Brachionus rotundiformis is an excellent primary live feed for fish larvae in aquaculture; however, it is not known whether the rotifer expresses MSTN and the MSTN prodomain along with its activity. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of recombinant MSTN prodomains. Individual cultures of the rotifer B. rotundiformis were carried out to determine the effect of recombinant MSTN prodomains (pMALc2x-poMSTNpro and pMALc2x-sMSTNpro) on the pre-reproductive phase, reproductive phase, post-reproductive phase, offspring, lifespan, fecundity, and male ratio. In addition, a population culture of the rotifer was performed to confirm the effects of pMALc2x-poMSTNpro and pMALc2x-sMSTNpro on population growth. The results showed that the rotifer treated with pMALc2x-pMSTNpro had a reduced pre-reproductive phase at higher concentrations (1, 2, and 4 ${\mu}g/ml$) compared to the non-treated control group. Moreover, the pMALc2xsMSTNpro treated rotifer effectively decreased the pre-reproductive phase at a lower concentration (0.25 ${\mu}g/ml$) compared to the pMALc2x-pMSTNpro treated and control group. Interestingly, pMALc2x-poMSTNpro and pMALc2x-sMSTNpro significantly increased the population of $B.$ $rotundiformis$.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.16-23
• /
• 2007

Myostatin (GDF8) is a growth factor that limits muscle tissue growth and development in vertebrates. We isolated a myostatin-like gene (Py-MSTN) from the marine invertebrate, the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis. Py-MSTN was highly expressed in the adductor muscle and in the gill unexpectedly. Amino acid analysis showed that Py-MSTN has 49% amino acid sequence identity and 64% similarity to human myostatin (Hs-MSTN), and 42% identity and 61% similarity to myoglianin, the only invertebrate homolog. These results indicated that Py-MSTN may be functionally similar to the vertebrate MSTN than the invertebrate homolog. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that Py-MSTN is an ancestral form of vertebrate MSTN and GDF11 and does not belong to other $TGF-{\beta}$ family members. Molecular modeling showed that Py-MSTN exhibits a similar tertiary structure to mammalian BMP7, a member of $TGF-{\beta}$ family. In addition, the amino acid residues which contact extracellular domain of the receptor were relavively conserved. Given these results, we propose that Py-MSTN is a functionally active member of the $TGF-{\beta}$ family and is involved In muscle growth and regulation.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.185-193
• /
• 2009

A complete cDNA, which encodes for a myostatin-like protein (Es-MSTN), was isolated from the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. Es-MSTN was composed of 2,397 nucleotides and the open reading frame (ORF) specified a protein containing 468 amino acids. Es-MSTN exhibited 32% amino acid sequence identity and 52% similarity to human myostatin. Multiple sequence alignment analysis indicated that Es-MSTN possessed the conserved proteolytic cleavage site (RXXR) for maturation of the protein and nine cysteine residues for disulfide bridges. Besides the conserved structural features, Es-MSTN also exhibits its unique characters; a longer N-terminal domain which is involved in protein folding and latent form of myostatin and absence of the cleavage site for BMP-1/tolloid family of metalloproteinase to activate mature myostatin. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Es-MSTN showed the closely related to both vertebrate myostatin and GDF11. Es-MSTN is expressed highly in the claw muscle, leg muscle, thoracic muscle and heart, and moderately in the hindgut suggesting that Es-MSTN may play important roles in the muscle tissues. As homolog of mammalian myostatin and GDF11, Es-MSTN may be involved in development of muscular tissue and further study will help to produce high-quality seafood.

• Genes and Genomics
• /
• v.40 no.11
• /
• pp.1119-1125
• /
• 2018

Melanocortin 4 receptor: (MC4R) and Myostatin (MSTN) are two important growth trait-related genes in animals. In this study, we showed that two SNPs, MC4R-719A>G and MSTN-519C>T, found in the promoters of the MC4R and MSTN genes, respectively, are both associated with growth traits in Spinibarbus hollandi. Furthermore, we observed that there were significant associations between the expression levels of the MC4R and MSTN genes and these two growth trait-related SNPs. The expression level of MC4R gene in brain was lower in GG genotype fish with extremely high growth performance than that in AA genotype fish with extremely low growth performance. Expression level of the MSTN gene in muscle was lower in TT genotype fish with extremely high growth performance than that in CC and CT genotype fish with lower growth performance. The results indicated that these SNPs located in the promoters of MC4R and MSTN are associated with growth-related traits through modification of gene expression levels. The MSTN and MC4R SNPs may have useful application in effective marker-assisted selection aimed to increase output in S. hollandi.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.83-88
• /
• 2020

Purpose: Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and myostatin (MSTN) are closely-related transforming growth factor β family members reported to play crucial roles in bone formation. We previously reported that, in contrast to MSTN, GDF11 promotes osteogenesis of vertebrae and limbs. GDF11 has been also reported as an important regulator in tooth development by inducing differentiation of pulp stem cells into odontoblasts for reparative dentin formation. The goal of this study was to investigate the differential roles of GDF11 and MSTN in dental and cranial bone formation. Methods: Micro-computed tomography analysis was performed on cranial bones, including frontal, parietal, and interparietal bones, and lower incisors of wild-type, Gdf11 knockout (Gdf11-/-), and Mstn knockout (Mstn-/-) mice. Tissue volume, thickness, and mineral density were evaluated for both cranial bone and lower incisors. Lower incisor lengths were also measured. Because Gdf11-/- mice die shortly after birth, analysis was performed on newborn (P0) mice. Results: Compared to those of Mstn-/- mice, cranial bone volume, thickness, and mineral density levels were all significantly diminished in Gdf11-/- mice. Tissue mineral density of Gdf11-/- mice were also significantly decreased compared to wild-type mice. Likewise, lower incisor length, tissue volume, thickness, and mineral density levels were all significantly reduced in Gdf11-/- mice compared to Mstn-/- mice. Incisor length was also significantly decreased in Gdf11-/- mice compared to wild-type mice. Mstn-/- mice exhibited mildly increased levels of tissue volume, thickness, and density in cranial bone and lower incisor compared to wild-type mice although statistically not significant. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that GDF11, unlike MSTN, endogenously promotes cranial bone and tooth development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.12
• /
• pp.1798-1804
• /
• 2007

The objective of this study was to assess the association of polymorphisms in MSTN and MYF5 genes with growth traits in three Chinese cattle breeds. Only one homozygous animal with BB genotype at MSTN locus was observed in Jiaxian population which was at Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (p<0.05). The frequencies of allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus in the three Chinese breeds were 0.9550/0.9730/0.9720 and 0.8275/0.7581/0.7523, respectively. Allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus were dominant in these three populations. No statistically significant differences in growth traits were observed between the genotypes of the Jiaxian breed at MSTN and MYF5 loci and the Nanyang breed at MYF5 locus. However, there were statistically significant differences between the genotypes at MSTN locus of the Nanyang breed for WH, HG, HGI and HGBLR (p<0.05), and of the Qinchuan breed for BLI (p<0.05). The SNP in MYF5 had significant effects on WH and HHC of Qinchuan animals (p<0.05). These results suggest that MSTN and MYF5 are strong candidate genes that influence growth traits in cattle. Other SNPs of MSTN and MYF5 or other linked genes should also be studied, which could lead to the development of selection plans to improve the performance of Chinese cattle and also promote the breeding of genuine beef cattle in China.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.10
• /
• pp.1500-1507
• /
• 2016

Myostatin (MSTN) can negatively regulate the growth and development of skeletal muscle, and natural mutations can cause "double-muscling" trait in animals. In order to block the inhibiting effect of MSTN on muscle growth, we transferred zinc-finger nucleases (ZFN) which targeted sheep MSTN gene into cultured fibroblasts. Gene targeted colonies were isolated from transfected fibroblasts by serial dilution culture and screened by sequencing. Two colonies were identified with mono-allele mutation and one colony with bi-allelic deletion. Further, we introduced the MSTN-ZFN mRNA into sheep embryos by microinjection. Thirteen of thirty-seven parthenogenetic embryos were targeted by ZFN, with the efficiency of 35%. Our work established the technical foundation for generation of MSTN gene editing sheep by somatic cloning and microinjection ZFN into embryos.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.30-35
• /
• 2013

The myostatin (MSTN) gene, as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth, has been proposed to be associated with production traits in farm animals. In the present study, a T/C variant at -125 bp (relative to ATG start codon) of 5'regulatory region of rabbit MSTN was identified by direct sequencing. Two hundred and twenty two rabbits, which were randomly sampled from 3 breeds (Ira rabbits, Champagne rabbits and Tianfu black rabbits), were genotyped by high-resolution melting (HRM). Comparing the genotyping results of 47 samples with direct sequencing, the HRM showed high sensitivity (0.96) and high specificity (0.98). In the three rabbit breeds, the allele C was the predominant allele. The polymorphic site showed high heterozygosity (He = 0.48) and high effective number of alleles (Ne = 1.91). The genetic diversity was reasonably informative (0.25

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.31 no.12
• /
• pp.1088-1093
• /
• 2021

Jeju horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a Korean horse breed that has been native to Jeju Island for a long time. Jeju horses are used as racehorses, and their racing ability is a major economic trait. The role of the myostatin (MSTN) gene in skeletal muscle mass has been studied in various mammals, and mutations in the MSTN gene are known to affect the racing ability and stamina of thoroughbreds. In this study, we compared the frequency of mutations in the MSTN gene in several horse breeds, including 1,433 Jeju horses. Among the mutations (ECA18 g.66493737C>T) in the MSTN gene, the long-distance aptitude genotype (TT) was found to have a frequency of 0.826 in Jeju horses, which was higher than that in Halla horses (0.285) and thoroughbreds (0.252). The genotypes and arrival records of Jeju horses were compared according to various distances (400 m, 800 m, 900 m, 1,000 m, 1,110 m, and 1,200 m). According to the results, the CT type showed a faster-reaching record than the TT type in races of less than 1,000 m. However, almost identical results were confirmed in races over 1,110 m. This study suggests that the MSTN mutation in Jeju horses may be related to race distance aptitude. In future research, the data in this study can be used for developing markers related to race distance aptitude and racing abilities in Jeju horses.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.60-67
• /
• 2007

Myostatin (MSTN; also known as GDF8) is a member of the transforming growth factor ${\beta}-superfamily$ of proteins. MSTN negatively regulates mammalian skeletal muscle growth and development by inhibiting myoblast proliferation. Mice and cattle possessing mutant MSTN alleles display a 'double muscling' phenotype characterized by extreme skeletal muscle hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia. We isolated the full-length cDNA of a novel MSTN gene from S. schlegeli muscle tissue and examined its expression pattern in various tissues. The full-length gene (GenBank DQ423474) consists of 1941bp with an open reading frame of 1134 bp, encoding 377 amino acids that show 62-92% amino acid similarity to other vertebrate MSTNs. The predicted protein contains a conserved proteolytic cleavage site (RXRR) and nine conserved cysteine residues at the C terminus. RT-PCR revealed that the unprocessed and prodomain myostatin mRNAs were predominantly present in muscle, with limited expression in other tissues. However, the mature myostatin mRNA was highly expressed in brain and muscle, intermediately expressed in the gills, intestine, heart, and kidney, and weakly expressed in the liver and spleen.