Histochemical characterization of myotomal muscle of five teleost species

Abstract

A histochemical study was performed on the myotomal musculature of five teleost fish from four families (longnose dace, Rhinichthyes cataractae; bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieul; yellow perch, Perca flavescens; lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis). Three main types of fibre (red, pink, white) were distinguished in these species on the basis of relative activities of actomyosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and NADH diaphorase. White muscle formed the bulk of the myotomal musculature. The proportion of red muscle was greater in the caudal region (11·–5% of the total cross‐sectional area) than in more anterior regions of the body in all the species. Pink fibres comprised only a transitional layer (cells deep) between red and white. In bluegill, the red fibres penetrated deeper medially from the superficial lateral position than in the other four species. It appears that, among the present five species, the somewhat greater amount of red muscle in yellow perch may be related to the free‐cruising sometimes associated with that species, compared to the more desultory activity of the other four. It is noted that the amount of red muscle relative to white is appreciably greater in all five species than that revealed in two esocid species in an earlier study; the latter are‘ ambush predators’that swim very rapidly towards prey. Copyright © 1989, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved