SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Basic Information
Additional Info

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Project No. and Title: NC1184 : Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Skeletal Muscle Growth and Differentiation
Period Covered: 10/01/2024 to 11/30/2025
Date of Report: 12/11/2025
Annual Meeting Dates: 11/14/2025 to 11/15/2025

Participants

Attached file:

NC1184-Annual-Meeting-Participation-List.docx

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Attached file:

Brief-summary-of-minutes-of-2025-annual-meeting.docx

Accomplishments

Outputs and Accomplishments

University of Hawaii

This past year one student defended and graduated with a MS degree related to NC1184 objectives. We found that vitamin E linearly increases protein synthesis rates of primary ovine satellite cells but does not impact proliferation rates of primary ovine satellites.
Gene expression related to ovine satellite cell differentiation suggests that vitamin E may be accelerating differentiation of ovine satellite cells.

Texas A&M University

In collaboration with the Oklahoma station, we utilized transcriptome analyses to identify several candidate genetic targets that respond to genetic regulators implicated in carcass defects.
Trained 2 master's students and several undergraduates.
Developed new collaborations and developed research proposals.

Washington State University

We have done integrative analysis of multi-comics including GWAS data, and transcript data (short and long read RNA sequencing).
We identified a new target gene that could be a master regulator for woody breast development and formation. This new finding leads to a USDA-NIFA proposal and a manuscript that is under preparation.

North Carolina State

I have a series of collaborative manuscripts with international authors (10+) in 2025.

Mississippi State University

Published at least 2 per-reviewed papers related to NC1184 project.

University of Georgia

Found loins affected with severe muscle fascicle fragmentation had smaller fascicle cross-sectional area in the central and lateral locations of a high-lean line while the medial and lateral locations were smaller in a low-lean.

Virginia Tech

Research completed in 2024–2025 generated new knowledge on postmortem muscle biology, mitochondrial function, and beef and pork quality across production systems.
Studies quantified how aging affects color development in grass-fed beef and validated an in vitro proteolysis system that accurately models carcass-level tenderization, providing practical tools for predicting meat quality.
Additional outputs included detailed characterization of mitochondrial abundance and function across muscle types and species, linking metabolic heterogeneity to color stability and early postmortem biochemical changes.
Research also demonstrated how finishing systems and growth rate alter beef color and postmortem metabolism in Bos indicus–influenced cattle. In swine, studies showed that beta-adrenergic agonist feeding alters mitochondrial metabolism, offering mechanistic insight into how growth-promoting technologies affect muscle energetics.
Collectively, these outputs integrate basic and applied muscle biology, generating datasets, analytical tools, and industry-relevant findings that inform live-animal management, carcass handling, and meat processing decisions.
In collaboration with Texas A&M, the Johnson lab graduated 2 students, published 3 abstracts, submitted a USDA grant and drafted 3 manuscripts for submission in 2026. Our collaborative work provided evidence of disrupted redox signaling (NAD+) that contributes to ROS accumulation and muscle fatigue.

South Dakota State University

Pilot projects in progress that will evolve into larger collaborative research opportunities.

Utah State University

Learned more about the mechanism through which anabolic implants improve growth of skeletal muscle in beef cattle.
Conducted research to determine whether there was an interaction between supplemental trace mineral concentration and presence of the steroids found in anabolic implants in a bovine muscle cell culture model.
Determined differences in skeletal muscle growth, production performance, and meat quality of cattle of different breed types. We did not do anything related to objective 2 over the past year.
Gained insight into how mitochondria modulate the rate of postmortem pH decline and, ultimately, fresh pork quality.

Kansas State University

Found that overexpression of the NUAK kinase or constitutively-active Formin-like both cause ectopic myofibrils that coincide with sites of new protein synthesis.
Characterized how the initiation of mitophagy occurs in skeletal muscle as a result of defective mRNA transport from the nucleus.
Establish mitochondrial pyruvate and glutamate metabolism is variable over the muscle lifespan of commercial pigs.

Purdue University

Used cell and molecular biology techniques, animal models and production animals to study molecular regulation of muscle growth and metabolism. Short-term outcomes: Currently training 3 graduate students and four undergraduate students in various research projects; developed new research techniques and methods; used state-of-art single liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to map polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolism in skeletal muscle.
Presented 16 conference proceedings to the general publics and research communities\Published 5 peer-reviewed papers.
Carried out 2 funded projects.
Research related to this project will lead to fundamental understanding of the cell intrinsic molecules and extrinsic signals that regulate skeletal muscle development, growth and regeneration. Such knowledge will serve as the foundation for translational approaches to increase meat production and improve meat quality in animal agriculture, and to improve health of the muscular system of humans.

University of Connecticut

We have demonstrated that poor maternal nutrition (both over and restricted feeding) increases oxidative damage and decreases antioxidant availability in first- and second-generation offspring muscle and circulation.

University of Arkansas

Trained 6 PhD students and 15 undergraduate research assistants.
Built collaborations to study muscle-brain interactions
Began a project related to whole, animal-protein foods compared to ultra-processed protein foods on ingestive behavior.
Conducted proteomics analysis on skeletal muscle from young versus older women in response to animal protein intake.

Iowa State University

We continued collecting and analyzing single-nucleus RNAseq and ATACseq multiomic data of bovine skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Significant differences in cell type.

Impacts

NC-1184: Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Skeletal Muscle Growth and Differentiation Public Impact Statement The NC1184 multistate project brings together scientists from across the country to improve the health, growth, and quality of livestock and poultry. In 2025, researchers made important discoveries about how nutrition, genetics, and management practices influence muscle development and meat quality. For example, studies showed that vitamins and minerals can change how muscle cells grow, that maternal and paternal nutrition affects offspring development, and that new genetic markers can help reduce costly carcass defects. These findings give farmers and ranchers practical tools to raise healthier animals and produce better meat. The project also uncovered how muscle forms and repairs itself, identifying genetic regulators of poultry muscle disorders and showing how poor maternal nutrition can affect muscle growth for multiple generations. These insights provide new targets for breeding and nutrition programs that improve efficiency and animal well-being. Finally, NC1184 scientists advanced understanding of how muscle proteins break down after harvest, which determines meat tenderness and quality. By validating new laboratory models and studying mitochondrial function, they developed tools that help processors predict and manage carcass quality. Together, these efforts strengthen U.S. animal agriculture by reducing economic losses, improving meat consistency, and supporting rural economies. The project also trains the next generation of scientists and fosters collaborations across universities, ensuring that discoveries benefit producers, processors, and consumers alike.
NC-1184: Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Skeletal Muscle Growth and Differentiation Impact Statement The NC1184 multistate project brings together researchers across universities to advance knowledge of skeletal muscle biology in livestock and poultry. In 2025, participating stations produced impactful discoveries, collaborative outputs, and industry-relevant tools aligned with the project’s three core objectives. Under Objective 1, members identified nutritional and genetic regulators such as vitamin E, maternal diet, and paternal influences that shape muscle development and intramuscular fat deposition. They also defined how anabolic implants, trace minerals, and finishing systems alter muscle growth, mitochondrial function, and postmortem metabolism, while discovering biomarkers of muscle fatigue and oxidative stress that provide predictive tools for equine and livestock industries. These findings give producers evidence-based strategies to improve growth efficiency, reduce carcass defects, and enhance meat quality. Progress under Objective 2 focused on the cellular and molecular basis of myogenesis. Researchers discovered novel genetic regulators of poultry muscle myopathies such as woody breast, leading to USDA proposals, and characterized fascicle and fiber structures in pigs with muscle fragmentation, offering new criteria for breeding programs. Studies also demonstrated multigenerational effects of poor maternal nutrition on muscle development, while advanced molecular approaches such as LC-MS/MS mapping of fatty acid metabolism uncovered how intrinsic and extrinsic signals regulate muscle growth. These discoveries provide genetic and nutritional targets to improve livestock growth efficiency and poultry health. Objective 3 emphasized protein assembly and degradation in skeletal muscle. Members validated in vitro proteolysis systems that mirror carcass tenderization, offering predictive tools for meat quality, and defined mitochondrial metabolism changes under growth-promoting technologies and stress conditions. Fundamental insights into mitophagy initiation and aberrant myofibril formation linked cellular events to protein turnover, while collaborative projects demonstrated how mitochondria modulate postmortem pH decline, directly connecting cellular energetics to pork quality outcomes. These outputs provide the livestock and meat industries with mechanistic foundations for managing protein turnover, optimizing feeding, and reducing variability in carcass quality. Overall, NC1184 members published peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts, and collaborative proposals, including USDA and NIH submissions, while training graduate and undergraduate students to strengthen workforce capacity. The project delivered actionable insights to producers, processors, and industry partners, integrating molecular biology, nutrition, genetics, and production practices to improve efficiency, resilience, and product quality in U.S. animal agriculture. Collectively, these efforts directly support USDA’s mission to enhance food security and rural economies.

Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained

Publications

Peer-Reviewed, Collaborative Publications

Liao, S. F., J. K. Tomberlin, S. W. El-Kadi, and L. O.Tedeschi. 2025. Animal and plant sourced proteins as part of a balanced human diet. CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology). Nov. 2025. https://cast-science.org/publication/animal-plant-proteins-human-diet

Bodmer, J.S., M. Beline, C. N. Yen, C. Johnson-Schuster, J.C. Wicks, M. Koohmaraie, T.H. Shi S.L. Silva and D. E. Gerrard. In vitro proteolysis mirrors intact muscle maturation in beef carcasses. Meat Sci. 2024 Nov 1;220:109695. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2024.109695. 173. Wicks, J.C., A.L. Wivell, T. Archibald and D.E. Gerrard. Assessment of small meat processors in Virginia. The Journal of Extension, 63(3), Article 8. https://open.clemson.edu/joe/vol63/iss3/8 174.

Yen, C-N., J. Bodmer, J. Wicks, M. Zumbaugh, H. Shi and D.E. Gerrard. Mitochondrial abundance and function differ across muscle within species Metabolites. 2024 Oct 16;14(10):553. doi: 10.3390/metabo14100553.

Yen, C-N, J.S. Bodmer, S.D. Gerrard, J.C. Wicks, M.D. Zumbaugh, T.L. Scheffler, S. El-Kadi, T.H. Shi and D.E. Gerrard. Feeding beta adrenergic agonists alters mitochondria metabolism in porcine skeletal muscle J Anim Sci. 2025 Nov 19:skaf401. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaf401

Munk, S.A., L.A. Rimmer, E.S., Beyer, J.L. Vipham, M.D. Chao, J.C. Woodworth, T.G. O’Quinn, D.E. Gerrard and M.D. Zumbaugh. Beta-adrenergic agonist alters pyruvate utilization independent of a fiber type shift (in review)

J.A. Rojas-Reyes‡, T.J. Blad‡, J.S. Bulosan, A.S. Wanguba, Y. Bustamante, K.J. Thornton, J.S. Odano, C.C. Reichhardt*. 2025. Supplementation of orally drenched ascorbic acid and injectable α-tocopherol reduces markers of naturally acquired parasites in grazing hair sheep. Small Ruminant Research. 107515. Doi: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107515

Guo Y, Brooks D, Zhao Z, Biven E, Geisbrecht ER. (2025) Loss of nuclear envelope bud formation leads to mitophagy initiation in Drosophila muscles. Autophagy Reports. doi: 10.1080/27694127.2025.2471121. PMID: 40395995

Tiwari P, Brooks D, Geisbrecht ER. (2025) Overexpression of Drosophila NUAK or Constitutively-Active Formin-Like Promotes the Formation of Aberrant Myofibrils. Cytoskeleton. 2025 Jan 29. doi: 10.1002/cm.21999. PMID: 39876757

Zhao Z and Geisbrecht ER. (2025) Stage-specific modulation of Drosophila gene expression with muscle GAL4 promoters. Fly. Epub 2025 Jan 7. doi: 10.1080/19336934.2024.2447617. PMID: 39772988.

Collaborative Abstracts

K.A. Shira, B.M. Murdoch, K.J. Thornton, G.K. Murdoch. Effect of ractopamine-HCl on the release of myokine FGF-21 in culture primary bovine muscle cells. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Animal Science. July 6-10, 2025. Orlando, FL.

Munk S. A., L. A. Rimmer, E. S. Beyer, J. L. Vipham, M. D. Chao, J. C. Woodworth, T. G. O’Quinn, D. E. Gerrard, and M. D. Zumbaugh. 2025. Beta-adrenergic agonists alter mitochondrial metabolite utilization independent of a fiber type shift. Physiology. Presented at the American Physiological Summit. Baltimore, MD.

Rimmer L. A., C. Yen, E. S. Beyer, J. L. Vipham, E. R. Geisbrecht, K. N. Gaffield, M. L. Mueller, T. G. O’Quinn, D. E. Gerrard, and M. D. Zumbaugh. 2025. Exploring the phenotypic and metabolic response of porcine skeletal muscle harboring mutations that drive oxidative and hypertrophic phenotypes. Meat and Muscle Biology. Presented at the Reciprocal Meat Conference, Columbus, OH.

Munk S. A., L. A. Rimmer, E. S. Beyer, J. L. Vipham, M. D. Chao, J. C. Woodworth, T. G. O’Quinn, D. E. Gerrard, and M. D. Zumbaugh. 2025. Beta-adrenergic agonists alter mitochondrial metabolite utilization independent of a fiber type shift. Meat and Muscle Biology. Presented at the Reciprocal Meat Conference, Columbus, OH.

Williams, Brooke; Weslowski, Lauren; DiSilvestro, Adrianna; Barshick, Madison; Mogge, Keeley; Jolley, Emily; Kaniyamattam1, Karun; Logan, Alyssa; Johnson, Sally; White-Springer, Sarah; Comparison of respiratory capacities of permeabilized muscle fibers and isolated mitochondria in exercising horses. Presented at American Physiology Summit, April 24-27, 2025. Baltimore, MD.

Williams, Brooke; Weslowski, Lauren; DiSilvestro, Adrianna; Barshick, Madison; Mogge, Keeley; Jolley, Emily; Logan, Alyssa; Johnson, Sally; White-Springer, Sarah; Impacts of Repeated Fatiguing Exercise on Mitochondria in Thoroughbreds. Presented at the Equine Science Society annual meeting. June 3-6, 2025. Fort Collins, CO.

White-Springer, Sarah; Williams, Brooke; Wesolowski, Lauren; DiSilvestro, Adrianna; Barshick, Madison; Mogge, Keeley; Jolley, Emily; Logan, Alyssa; Johnson, Sally. Novel predictors of fatigue in Thoroughbred horses. Presented at the British Society of Animal Science annual meeting. April 8-10, 2025. Galway, IRE.

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