Structural differences in the motor domain of temperature-associated myosin heavy chain isoforms from grass carp fast skeletal muscle

Duplication of a Single myhz1.1 Gene Facilitated the Ability of Goldfish (Carassius auratus) to Alter Fast Muscle Contractile Properties With Seasonal Temperature Change

Seasonal temperature changes markedly effect the swimming performance of some cyprinid fish acutely tested at different temperatures, involving a restructuring of skeletal muscle phenotype including changes in contractile properties and myosin heavy chain expression. We analyzed the transcriptome of fast myotomal muscle from goldfish (Carassius auratus L.) acclimated to either 8 or 25°C for 4 weeks (12 h light: 12 h dark) and identified 10 myosin heavy chains (myh) and 13 myosin light chain (myl) transcripts. Goldfish orthologs were classified based on zebrafish nomenclature as myhz1.1α, myhz1.1β, myhz1.1γ, myha, myhb, embryo_myh1, myh9b, smyh2, symh3, and myh11 (myosin heavy chains) and myl1a, myl1b, myl2, myl9a, myl9b, myl3, myl13, myl6, myl12.1a, myl12.1b, myl12.2a, myl12.2b, and myl10 (myosin light chains). The most abundantly expressed transcripts myhz1.1α, myhz1.1β, myhz1.1γ, myha, myl1a, myl1b, myl2, and myl3) were further investigated in fast skeletal muscle of goldfish acclimated to either 4, 8, 15, or 30°C for 12 weeks (12 h light:12 h dark). Total copy number for the myosin heavy chains showed a distinct optimum at 15°C (P < 0.01). Together myhz1.1α and myhz1.1β comprised 90 to 97% of myhc transcripts below 15°C, but only 62% at 30°C. Whereas myhz1.1α and myhz1.1β were equally abundant at 4 and 8°C, myhz1.1β transcripts were 17 and 12 times higher than myhz1.1α at 15 and 30°C, respectively, (P < 0.01). Myhz1.1γ expression was at least nine-fold higher at 30°C than at cooler temperatures (P < 0.01). In contrast, the expression of myha and myosin light chains showed no consistent pattern with acclimation temperature. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that the previously reported ability of goldfish and common carp to alter contractile properties and myofibrillar ATPase activity with temperature acclimation was related to the duplication of a single myhz1.1 fast muscle myosin heavy chain found in basal cyprinids such as the zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Structural stability of myosin rod from silver carp as affected by season

Chymotrypsin digestion and Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy were used to study the structural stability of myosin rods prepared from silver carp in summer and winter. Differences in the thermal stability were clearly demonstrated by the chymotryptic digestion patterns and CD data obtained at pH 7.5 in 0.5 M KCl for myosin rods in both seasons, indicating the structural properties differed seasonally. In winter, the myosin rods were more susceptible to be cleaved into short (40 kDa) subfragments when digested at high temperature (30 °C). The major peaks in unfolding profiles showed that transition temperatures for the rods were 35 °C in winter, and 36 and 41 °C in summer. Rod subfragments (S-2 and LMM) were isolated and further analyzed by CD. In both winter and summer, the LMM fragments showed an unfolding transition at around 35.5 °C, but the S-2 fragments showed large seasonal difference; in winter, they showed a major unfolding peak around 35 °C and a minor peak at 40.5 °C, while in summer, they unfolded mostly at 44.5 °C, which was 8 °C higher than that for the LMM fragments. Short (40 kDa) S-2 subfragments isolated from winter rods gave a single unfolding transition at 41 °C. These results suggest that differences in the thermal stability of myosin rods between winter and summer were due to differences in the stability of S-2 region.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

The aim of this study was to detect the differences in the structure thermal stability of myosin rods between summer and winter, which is a very important portion for gel formation. The information will be very useful for producing surimi from freshwater fish species in different seasons.

A comparison of the heart and muscle total lipid and fatty acid profiles of nine large shark species from the east coast of South Africa

We have assessed the fatty acid profiles of the hearts and different muscle tissues from nine large shark species (Carcharhinus limbatus (blacktip), Carcharhinus obscurus (dusky), Carcharhinus brevipinna (spinner), Carcharhinus leucas (Zambezi/bull), Galeocerdo cuvier (tiger), Sphyrna lewini (scalloped hammerhead), Sphyrna zygaena (smooth hammerhead), Carcharodon carcharias (great white) and Carcharias taurus (raggedtooth/grey nurse/sand tiger)) found off the east coast of South Africa. While there was generally little variation between the species, all species showed profiles rich in both n6 and n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to terrestrial commercial meats that have low n3. Thus, utilizing skeletal muscle tissues from sharks caught as part of the bycatch when fishing for teleosts would avoid unnecessary wastage of a potentially valuable resource, with all the possible health benefits of high quality protein combined with balanced polyunsaturates, although contamination with high levels of metabolic wastes, such as urea, may be a negative consideration.