Fig. 8. Scheme visualizing the integration of the complex stimulus of exercise in recruited skeletal muscle. Different homeostatic perturbations, such as those related to metabolic flux, loading, hormonal and neuronal alterations, are converted by specific sensory molecules into the activation of signaling cascades. These ultimately control muscle fate via the regulation of gene expression. Distinct master switches evolve that relate to the main themes of the gene expressional response in striated muscle. These phenomena involve the cooperation of gene expressional regulation of metabolic pathways, the coordination between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and the specificity of the muscular adaptation with respect to the `composition' of the respective exercise stimulus. Consequently, gene expression represents an important layer of control for the processing of physiological information towards a biological outcome.