Long-time domestication of the pig has lead to
substantial changes in the ontogenic development and
the contractile and metabolic properties of skeletal
muscle. Skeletal muscle of domestic pigs appears less
mature at birth and contains a lower number of
myofibers compared with wild-type pigs. The later
superiority of domestic pigs over wild-type pigs in skeletal muscle mass results mainly from accelerated
myofiber hypertrophy and protein accretion at the level
of transcription during postnatal growth. To less extent
there is a contribution by additional myofiber formation
shortly after birth in some muscles. In addition,
domestication was associated with a clear shift of
skeletal muscle to fast-twitch glycolytic properties.