Figure 1

Poor maternal nutrition alters cross sectional area and fiber type composition of offspring. Muscle cross sections (10 μm) were immunostained with α-dystrophin to mark muscle fiber membranes (yellow), α-myosin heavy chain (MyHC) I (red), α-MyHC IIA (blue), or α-MyHC IIB (green) to identify the different muscle fiber types. Cross sectional area was measured at 1 d (A) and 3 mo (B). Fiber type distribution was determined at 1 d (C) and 3 mo (D). Representative photographs are shown (E). *P ≤ 0.05 compared with CON, different letters indicate P ≤ 0.05 compared with CON. CON = lambs from control-fed ewes (100% NRC), OVER = lambs from overfed ewes (140% NRC), RES = lambs from restricted-fed ewes (60% NRC), n = 3 lambs/group.