TABLE 1.
Effect of Wooden Breast on density, relative density, and heterogeneity of Pectoralis major muscle satellite cell populations in broiler chickens at 25 days of age.
| Cell population2,3 |
Wooden Breast Score1 |
SEM4 | P-value | ||
| Normal (0) | Mild (1) | Severe (2) | |||
| Density, cells per mm2 | |||||
| Myf-5−:MyoD−:Pax7− (non-myogenic) | 412.69 | 521.44 | 547.55 | 107.92 | 0.650 |
| Myf-5+ | 106.63 | 84.75 | 139.37 | 19.46 | 0.161 |
| MyoD+ | 16.38 | 16.50 | 12.00 | 6.44 | 0.855 |
| Pax7+ | 60.25 | 60.63 | 78.75 | 13.85 | 0.567 |
| Myf-5+:MyoD+ | 37.38 | 39.50 | 35.00 | 13.31 | 0.972 |
| Myf-5+:Pax7+ | 11.25 | 17.25 | 7.50 | 6.50 | 0.573 |
| MyoD+:Pax7+ | 6.75 | 12.75 | 15.75 | 5.06 | 0.454 |
| Myf-5+:MyoD+:Pax7+ | 18.00 | 21.00 | 45.50 | 9.59 | 0.109 |
| Relative density, % of total DAPI+ | |||||
| Myf-5−:MyoD−:Pax7− (non-myogenic) | 61.69 | 67.46 | 62.14 | 0.05 | 0.644 |
| Myf-5+ | 15.94 | 10.96 | 15.82 | 0.03 | 0.459 |
| MyoD+ | 2.45 | 2.14 | 1.36 | 0.01 | 0.487 |
| Pax7+ | 9.01 | 7.84 | 8.94 | 0.01 | 0.825 |
| Myf-5+:MyoD | 5.58 | 5.11 | 3.97 | 0.02 | 0.825 |
| Myf-5+:Pax7+ | 1.68 | 2.23 | 0.85 | 0.01 | 0.569 |
| MyoD+:Pax7+ | 1.01 | 1.65 | 1.79 | 0.01 | 0.649 |
| MyoD+:Myf-5+: Pax7+ | 2.69 | 2.72 | 5.16 | 0.01 | 0.173 |
| Relative density, % of total myogenic | |||||
| Myf-5+ | 41.59 | 33.65 | 41.78 | 0.05 | 0.374 |
| MyoD+ | 6.38 | 6.55 | 3.59 | 0.02 | 0.537 |
| Pax7+ | 23.50 | 24.07 | 23.60 | 0.06 | 0.997 |
| Myf-5+:MyoD+ | 14.58 | 15.68 | 10.49 | 0.04 | 0.587 |
| Myf-5+:Pax7+ | 4.39 | 6.85 | 2.25 | 0.02 | 0.416 |
| MyoD+:Pax7+ | 2.63 | 5.06 | 4.72 | 0.02 | 0.593 |
| Myf-5+:MyoD+: Pax7+ | 7.02 | 8.34 | 13.64 | 0.03 | 0.104 |
1The Pectoralis major muscles of all birds were visually assessed and scored on a 3-point scale (0 = normal; 1 = mild; 2 = severe) for Wooden Breast (n = 8 per score). 2DAPI = 4′6-diamindino-phenylindole nuclear counterstain. All subsequent cell populations may be assumed to be DAPI+. 3Total describes every cell positive for the specific immunofluorescence target protein, regardless of the status of other targets; Non-myogenic describes cells not positive for Myf-5, Pax7, MyoD, or any combination thereof; Myogenic describes cells positive for Myf-5, Pax7, MyoD, or any combination thereof. 4SEM = highest standard error of the pair-wise mean comparisons. a,bMeans within the same row with different superscripts differ P ≤ 0.05. x,yMeans within the same row with different superscripts differ 0.0501 ≤ P ≤ 0.10.