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Independent development of contractile properties and myosin light chains in embryonic chick fast and slow muscle

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Abstract

  1. 1.

    The contractile speeds and tetanus/twitch ratios of the slow anterior latissiumus dorsi (ALD) and fast posterior, latissimus dorsi (PLD) muscles were studied during embryonic development and correlated with the type of myosin light chains present in these muscles as studied by one and two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

  2. 2.

    At a time when the contractions of PLD were slow, i.e. in 15 day old embryos, the myosin light chains in this muscle were of the fast type. The slow contraction of this muscle may be due to incomplete and slow activation of the contractile elements. The tetanus/twich ratio of muscles from 15 day old embryos is low and increases sharply with age. This increase could be due to the maturation of the internal membrane system, and occurs at about the same time as the increase in the speed of contraction.

  3. 3.

    ALD muscles contract slowly during all stages of development, although their tetanus/twitch ratio also increases with age. At 13 days they contain a mixture of fast and slow type myosin light chains and with increasing age the proportion of the slow type myosin light chains increases at the expense of the fast type. The slow time course of contraction of ALD is consistent with the presence of slow type myosin light chains.

  4. 4.

    The possibility that the synthesis of the slow type myosin light chains in ALD is induced by early motor activity in chick embryos is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Biologie, Universität Konstanz, Postfach 7733, D-7750, Konstanz, Federal Republic of Germany

    Dirk Pette

  2. Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E, London, England

    Gerta Vrbová

  3. Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, 25, Rue du Dr. Roux, F-75015, Paris, France

    Robert C. Whalen

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  1. Dirk Pette
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  2. Gerta Vrbová
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  3. Robert C. Whalen
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Pette, D., Vrbová, G. & Whalen, R.C. Independent development of contractile properties and myosin light chains in embryonic chick fast and slow muscle. Pflugers Arch. 378, 251–257 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00592743

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00592743

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