Abstract：In order to study the development of muscle fibers at different growth stages of Shitou and Wuzong geese, we collected chest and leg muscles of three Wuzong and Shitou geese at the age of 1, 40 and 120 days, respectively. Paraffin sections of chest and leg muscles were observed under the microscope, and the diameter and cross-sectional area of muscle fibers in both two geese species were measured. By section observation and analysis, we found that at the age of 1 day, the chest muscle fibers were not significantly different between goose species, while the leg muscle fibers were significantly different (P<0.05) in the diameter and cross-sectional area. At the age of 40 days, there was a significant difference in the cross-sectional area of chest muscle fibers between goose species (P<0.05) . However, the diameter of the leg muscle fibers and the diameter and cross-sectional area of the chest muscle fibers were not significantly different (P>0.05) . At the age of 120 days, the difference in the diameter and cross-sectional area of leg and chest muscle fibers were extremely significant between goose species (P<0.01) . These results showed that the muscle fibers of Wuzong geese grew rapidly during the period from 1 to 40 days, but the growth potential of muscle fibers after 40 days was slower compared with Shitou geese.
2019, Vol. 32 
