| Animal Biosciences

Marcio Duarte

Position/Title: Assistant Professor
email: mduarte@uoguelph.ca
Phone: (519) 824-4120 ext. 53660
Office: ANNU152

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Scholar

Marcio Duarte was born in Viçosa, a college town located at southeast in Brazil. Marcio comes from Federal University of Viçosa in Brazil where he was a three-time grad in Animal Science. His Masters and Ph.D was focused on Meat Science and Muscle Biology in ruminant animals. During his Ph.D he was a visiting scholar at the Nutrigenomics and Growth Biology Laboratory at Washington State University (2011-2012). After his Ph.D, he joined the Department of Animal Sciences at Federal University of Viçosa as a postdoctoral fellow. Upon completion of his postdoctoral fellowship, Marcio joined the same Department as Assistant Professor, where he stayed for seven years. He joined the Department of Animal Biosciences at University of Guelph in 2021 as Assistant Professor in Meat Science and Muscle Biology. His area of research focuses on skeletal muscle growth and metabolism both pre and postnatally and its overall impact on the quality of meat.

Academic History

Ph.D in Animal Science, Federal University of Viçosa (2013)
MS in Animal Science, Federal University of Viçosa (2010)
BS in Animal Science, Federal University of Viçosa (2008)

Affiliations

Canadian Meat Science Association
Canadian Society of Animal Science
American Society of Animal Science

Current Research Projects

Maternal and neonatal nutrition and skeletal muscle development of the offspring

Duarte's laboratory is currently investigating the impact of gestational and neonatal nutrition on the skeletal muscle development of offspring in meat animals. A key focus of this research involves the examination of how maternal nutrition influences the mechanisms associated with myogenesis and adipogenesis in skeletal muscle, and the potential implications for the animal's performance, carcass deposition, and meat quality. Gaining insight into the intrinsic and extrinsic effects of maternal nutrition during gestation on the trajectory of an animal's life has the potential to enhance nutritional management in the early stages, ultimately leading to improvements in carcass yield and quality.

Use of electrolyte solution during pre-slaughter handling and its effects on the conversion of muscle into meat, and beef quality

The pre-slaughter stress is one of the major issues that can affect the quality of raw meat. A lot of efforts have been made over the decades to develop technologies that may prevent/minimize the effects of stress pre-slaughter and to avoid the occurrence of DFD meat. In this project, we aim to investigate the effects of electrolyte solution administered pre-slaughter on the stress indicators of the animals, the biology of conversion of muscle into meat, and on the quality aspects of beef.

Supplementation of functional amino acids to enhance muscle growth and development

The current body of research exploring the effects of industrial amino acids (AA) and intermediary molecules of AA metabolism on the mechanisms influencing muscle growth and development in beef cattle is rather sparse. Notably, a substantial knowledge gap exists in understanding how these functional molecules can be strategically integrated into beef production practices. In response to this gap, our laboratory is actively engaged in the strategic utilization of functional amino acids, employing a combined approach that merges fundamental and applied science. Our aim is to unravel the intricate biology of muscle growth, discerning its impact on carcass yield, and elucidating potential implications for quality traits.