Production of mature myotubes in vitro improves the texture and protein quality of cultured pork

Abstract

Cultured meat technology provides a promising strategy for the production of meat protein, which is an important nutrient in daily life. Currently, there is still a lack of systematic research on the basic determinants of the texture and protein quality of cultured meat. Here we first developed a chemically defined serum-free medium consisting of serum substitutes and the differentiation-promoting natural compound naringenin (NAR), which showed excellent efficacy in inducing differentiation of porcine satellite cells (PSCs) to generate mature myotubes in vitro. Then, cultured pork samples consisting of proliferating PSCs or differentiated myotubes were manufactured by culturing PSCs in different media with textured vegetable protein (TVP) scaffolds. By analyzing the appearance, texture, chemical composition, and amino acid ratio of these cultured pork samples, we found that the content and maturity of myotubes in cultured meat play an essential role in determining its quality as meat. These findings contribute to the commercial application and establishment of standards for cultured meat as a new protein food.