Developmental changes in myosin isoforms from slow and fast latissimus dorsi muscles in the chicken

Abstract In the course of muscle differentiation, changes in fibre-type population and in myosin composition occur. In this work, the expression of native myosin isoforms in developing fast-twitch ( posterior latissimus dorsi ; PLD) and slow-tonic ( anterior latissimus dorsi ; ALD) muscles of the chick was examined using electrophoresis under nondissociating conditions. The major isomyosin of 11-day-old embryonic PLD comigrated with the adult fast myosin FM 3 . Two additional components indistinguishable from adult fast FM 2 and FM 1 isomyosins appeared successively during the embryonic development. The relative proportion of these latter isoforms increased with age, and the adult pattern was established by the end of the 1st month after hatching. Between day 11 and day 16 of embryonic development, PLD muscle fibres also contained small amounts of slow isomyosins SM 1 and SM 2 . This synthesis of slow isoforms may be related to the presence of slow fibres within the muscle. At all embryonic and posthatch stages, ALD was composed essentially of slow isomyosins that comigrated with the two slow components SM 1 , and SM 2 identified in adult. Several studies have reported that the SM 1 : SM 2 ratio decreases progressively throughout embryonic and posthatching development, SM 2 being predominant in the adult. In contrast, we observed a transient increase in SM 1 : SM 2 ratio at the end of embryonic life. This could reflect a transitional neonatal stage in myosin expression. In addition, the presence in trace amounts of fast isomyosins in developing ALD muscle could be related to the presence of a population of fast fibres within this muscle.