@conference {41094,
	title = {Compensatory growth in lambs undernourished from birth},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {59},
	year = {1999},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {111-113},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	abstract = {There is evidence to suggest that lambs on restricted nutrition from birth fail to show compensatory growth.  In this indoor trial, lambs were allocated to one of three treatments and fed on lamb milk formula, then sheep pellets. Lambs were started on high (H) or low (L) rates of intake from 3 days of age. Groups of L lambs were subsequently placed on H intakes (low-high; L-H) at 2, 4 and 8 months of age and killed at 4, 8 and 15 months of age respectively. At 15 months H lambs weighed 86.2 kg and L lambs 28.6 kg. The growth rates of L-H ranged between 224 and 242 g/d during compensatory growth. The H lambs averaged 186 and L lambs 50 g/d during the experiment. At slaughter, there was no difference between H and L-H lambs for hot carcass weight when adjusted for final live weight, and little change in the weight and length of M.  semitendinosus.  Hind limb dissection also demonstrated no effect of nutritional treatment on proportions of muscle, bone and fat in H and L-H lambs.  These results suggest that lambs on restricted nutrition from birth retain their potential to grow if provided with improved nutrition.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Bass J and Kirton A and Oldham J}
}
@conference {41144,
	title = {A review of recent findings on myostatin - a gene which controls muscle growth},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {59},
	year = {1999},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {291-293},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	abstract = {The enlarged muscles of certain breeds of cattle, such as the Belgian Blue, result from a marked increase in the number of
normal sized muscle fibres. Originally insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) were implicated in this myofibre hyperplasia. Recently it has been reported that mice lacking a myostatin gene, a member of the TGFb super family, have enhanced skeletal muscle mass resulting from increased muscle fibre number and size. Mutations in this gene have been found in double muscled cattle, indicating that myostatin is an inhibitor of muscle growth. Myostatin is expressed early in gestation and then maintained to adulthood in certain muscles. Myostatin expression in bovine muscle is highest during gestation when muscle fibres are forming and some of the myogenic regulatory factors have elevated expression over the same period as myostatin. Myostatin and MyoD, myogenic regulatory factors expressed in muscle have been shown to differ between normal and hypertrophied muscle cattle breeds.  This evidence strongly suggests that lack of functional myostatin is associated with an increase in fibre number which then results in a marked increase in potential muscle mass in double muscled cattle.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Bass J and Oldham J and Sharma M and Kambadur R}
}
