Abstract：Ammonia exposure is one of the most important environmental factors in the livestock and poultry houses, which affects the growth and health of animals. Ammonia exposure not only endanger the growth performance of livestock and poultry, but also affect the quality of livestock and poultry meat. Recent studies also demonstrate that ammonia can induce the expression of myostatin (MSTN) by nuclear factor kappa enhancer binding protein (NF-κB) signal pathway, and inhibit the activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signal pathway, which inhibit the growth and protein synthesis in the skeletal muscle. It also can regulate the expression of fat-related genes and redirect the fat deposition. In order to provide new evidence and strategy to improve meat quality via environmental control, this paper reviewed ammonia production, ammonia metabolism in vivo, the effects of ammonia exposure on the growth performance and meat quality of livestock and poultry as well as possible molecular mechanisms of ammonia affecting meat quality.
