Poor Maternal Diet During Gestation Alters Offspring Muscle Morphometrics, Collagen Gene Expression, and Meat Tenderness in Sheep
by
, , , , , and
Mia Y. Kawaida
1,†
,
Amanda S. Reiter
1,‡,
Nicole M. Tillquist
1,§,
Brandon I. Smith
1,‖,
Daniela A. Alambarrio
2,
John M. Gonzalez
2,
Stephanie N. Royko
1,
Michela A. Brown
1,
Shawn R. Re
1,
Kristen E. Govoni
1,
Steven A. Zinn
1 and
Sarah A. Reed
1,* 1
Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
2
Department of Animal Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Present address: Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
‡
Present address: Department of Animal Science, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX 76401, USA.
§
Present address: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
‖
Present address: A2-Ai, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA.
Animals 2026, 16(3), 486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16030486
Submission received: 17 December 2025
/
Revised: 15 January 2026
/
Accepted: 22 January 2026
/
Published: 4 February 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Meat Quality Through Genetic and Nutritional Insights)
Simple Summary
Poor maternal nutrition during gestation alters the muscle growth of offspring, but how that impacts meat characteristics and quality is not well defined. Male offspring of ewes fed a restricted-fed diet had a greater longissimus muscle fiber size but reduced semitendinosus muscle fiber size, with no differences in longissimus or semitendinosus muscle weight. Offspring of ewes fed an overfed diet had loin chops that were more tender than offspring of restricted- or control-fed ewes. There were no differences in back fat or longissimus muscle collagen content as a result of maternal diet. However, gene expression related to muscle and collagen formation, and epigenetic markers, were altered as a result of maternal diet. These results suggest that a poor maternal diet impacts the meat characteristics that may alter the meat quality of sheep.
Abstract
We hypothesized that maternal overfeeding and restricted feeding during gestation would alter the collagen content, muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), and meat tenderness in offspring. Pregnant ewes were fed 100% (CON), 60% (RES), or 140% (OVER) of their requirements from day 30 of gestation until parturition. Male offspring were necropsied at 282 ± 1.8 days of age. Gene expression and CSA were quantified in the longissimus (LM) and semitendinosus (STN) muscles. The Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) was quantified in LM. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, with diet as a fixed effect. Differences were considered significant at p ≤ 0.05 or a tendency at p ≤ 0.10. Semitendinosus CSA was smaller in OVER and RES than CON rams (p = 0.02). Longissimus CSA was larger in RES than OVER and CON rams (p = 0.002). OVER LM had reduced WBSF compared with CON rams (p = 0.03). Myogenic genes bone morphogenic protein 1 (BMP1) and paired box 7 were greater in RES LM than OVER (p ≤ 0.02). Maternal diet altered the fibrogenic genes fibronectin 1 (p = 0.07), lysyl oxidase (p = 0.07), and collagen 1A1 (COL1A1; p = 0.08) in the LM and COL1A1, COL3A1, and BMP1 (p ≤ 0.09) in the STN. Poor maternal diet during gestation alters muscle and meat characteristics that may impact meat quality.
Keywords:
collagen; maternal nutrition; meat; muscle; sheep; tenderness
