Fiber type and metabolic characteristics of skeletal muscle in 16 breeds of domestic dogs

Abstract

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) species comprises hundreds of breeds, each differing in physical characteristics, behavior, strength, and running capability. Very little is known about the skeletal muscle composition and metabolism between the different breeds, which may explain disease susceptibility. Muscle samples from the triceps brachii (TB) and vastus lateralis (VL) were collected post mortem from 35 adult dogs, encompassing 16 breeds of varying ages and sex. Samples were analyzed for fiber type composition, fiber size, oxidative, and glycolytic metabolic capacity (citrate synthase [CS], 3‐hydroxyacetyl‐coA dehydrogenase [3HAD], creatine kinase [CK], and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] enzyme activities). There was no significant difference between the TB and VL in any of the measurements. However, there were large intra species variation, with some variables confirming the physical attributes of a specific breed. Collectively, type IIA was the predominant fiber type followed by type I and type IIX. The cross‐sectional areas (CSA) of the fibers were all smaller when compared to humans and similar to other wild animals. There was no difference in the CSA between the fiber types and muscle groups. Metabolically, the muscle of the dog displayed high oxidative capacity with high activities for CS and 3HAD. Lower CK and higher LDH activities than humans indicate a lower and higher flux through the high energy phosphate and glycolytic pathways, respectively. The high variability found across the different breeds may be attributed to genetics, function or lifestyle which have largely been driven through human intervention. This data may provide a foundation for future research into the role of these parameters in disease susceptibility, such as insulin resistance and diabetes, across breeds.

Baselining physiological parameters in three muscles across three equine breeds. What can we learn from the horse?

“…Also, in a study performed in ducks by Li and co-workers, no significant differences were found in the fCSA between the breeds examined (Li et al, 2016). Similarly, in a study by van Boom et al (2023), the fCSA in two different muscles of 16 dog breeds showed no significant differences. Overall, this suggests that the fCSA is not discriminative between breeds of the same species and that species mainly differ in the fCSA of non type I fibers.…”

“…For instance, at baseline, Andalusian horses, which are well known for powerful equestrian activities of rather short duration, such as dressage, show jumping and driving, have a significantly larger fCSA across all muscle fiber types when compared to Dutch Warmblood horses, Arabian and Thoroughbred horses ( Rivero and Diz, 1992 ; Serrano and Rivero, 2000 ; Rietbroek et al, 2007 ). Similarly, the Greyhound, which is the canine archetype of acceleration power, has a larger mfCSA when compared to a Yorkshire Terrier ( van Boom et al, 2023 ).…”