Polysaccharides from Metarhizium pinghaense: a novel biomaterial to modulate bovine satellite cell fate for cultured meat

The finite proliferative lifespan and progressive loss of stemness in muscle stem cells present a significant bottleneck for the industrial-scale manufacturing of cultured meat. To overcome this limitation, we evaluated a microbial polysaccharide from Metarhizium pinghaense 15R (MP15R) for its capacity to augment bovine satellite cell (BSC) functionality. Our in vitro findings demonstrate that MP15R treatment enhanced BSC proliferation and migration while sustaining elevated expression of the canonical stem cell marker PAX7 throughout prolonged passaging. Moreover, upon induction, MP15R robustly promoted terminal myogenic differentiation, evidenced by the upregulation of key markers such as MYOG and MYHC and an increased myotube fusion index. Collectively, these results establish the MP15R polysaccharide as a sustainable, cost-effective bioactive agent with a bifunctional capacity to improve both the expansion and differentiation phases essential for cultured meat bioprocessing.