title: How Muscle Structure and Composition Influence Meat and Flesh Quality.
abstract: Skeletal muscle consists of several tissues, such as muscle fibers and connective and adipose tissues. This review aims to describe the features of these various muscle components and their relationships with the technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of meat/flesh from different livestock and fish species. Thus, the contractile and metabolic types, size and number of muscle fibers, the content, composition and distribution of the connective tissue, and the content and lipid composition of intramuscular fat play a role in the determination of meat/flesh appearance, color, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and technological value. Interestingly, the biochemical and structural characteristics of muscle fibers, intramuscular connective tissue, and intramuscular fat appear to play independent role, which suggests that the properties of these various muscle components can be independently modulated by genetics or environmental factors to achieve production efficiency and improve meat/flesh quality.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1213 Herbivores, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France; Clermont Université, VetAgro Sup, UMR1213 Herbivores, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Listrat
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France; Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35000 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lebret
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France; Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35000 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Louveau
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR0370 QuaPA, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Astruc
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1213 Herbivores, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France; Clermont Université, VetAgro Sup, UMR1213 Herbivores, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonnet
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France; Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1348 PEGASE, 35000 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lefaucheur
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1213 Herbivores, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France; Clermont Université, VetAgro Sup, UMR1213 Herbivores, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR1037 LPGP, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bugeon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology