Background Muscle growth post-birth relies on muscle fiber number and size. Myofibre number, metabolic and
contractile capacities are established pre-birth during prenatal myogenesis. The aim of this study was to identify
genes involved in skeletal muscle development in cattle, sheep, and pigs - livestock.
Results The cattle analysis showed significant differences in 5043 genes during the 135–280 dpc period. In sheep,
444 genes differed significantly during the 70–120 dpc period. Pigs had 905 significantly different genes for the 63–91
dpc period.The biological processes and KEGG pathway enrichment results in each species individually indicated
that DEGs in cattle were significantly enriched in regulation of cell proliferation, cell division, focal adhesion, ECMreceptor interaction, and signaling pathways (PI3K-Akt, PPAR, MAPK, AMPK, Ras, Rap1); in sheep - positive regulation of
fibroblast proliferation, negative regulation of endothelial cell proliferation, focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction,
insulin resistance, and signaling pathways (PI3K-Akt, HIF-1, prolactin, Rap1, PPAR); in pigs - regulation of striated
muscle tissue development, collagen fibril organization, positive regulation of insulin secretion, focal adhesion,
ECM-receptor interaction, and signaling pathways (PPAR, FoxO, HIF-1, AMPK). Among the DEGs common for studied
animal species, 45 common genes were identified. Based on these, a protein-protein interaction network was created
and three significant modules critical for skeletal muscle myogenesis were found, with the most significant module
A containing four recognized hub genes - EGFR, VEGFA, CDH1, and CAV1. Using the miRWALK and TF2DNA databases,
miRNAs (bta-miR-2374 and bta-miR-744) and transcription factors (CEBPB, KLF15, RELA, ZNF143, ZBTB48, and REST)
associated with hub genes were detected. Analysis of GO term and KEGG pathways showed that such processes are
related to myogenesis and associated with module A: positive regulation of MAP kinase activity, vascular endothelial
growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor binding, focal adhesion, and signaling pathways (PI3K-Akt, HIF-1,
Rap1, Ras, MAPK).
Conclusions The identified genes, common to the prenatal developmental period of skeletal muscle in livestock,
are critical for later muscle development, including its growth by hypertrophy. They regulate valuable economic
characteristics. Enhancing and breeding animals according to the recognized genes seems essential for breeders to
achieve superior gains in high-quality muscle mass.