Synopsis
Serial sections of longissimus dorsi and rectus femoris muscles from 15 Yorkshire breed pigs (live weights 24–46 and 94–139 kg) were stained for glycogen (PAS) and a mitochondrial enzyme (NAD tetrazolium reductase). Muscle fibres with a low mitochondrial content in both muscles were more frequently PAS-positive than fibres with a high or intermediate mitochondrial content. However, some pigs had all their muscle fibres PAS-positive while one pig with a highpost-mortem muscle pH had all rectus femoris fibres PAS-negative. Relative to lighter weight pigs, longissimus dorsi muscles of heavy pigs tended to have less fibres with a high mitochondrial content and less fibres with a positive PAS reaction. Compared to longissimus dorsi muscles, rectus femoris muscles had more fibres with a high mitochondrial content and less with a positive PAS reaction. All fibres in both muscles became PAS-negative with an accompanying decrease in pH by 24 hrpost-mortem. Fibres from longissimus dorsi musles frequently had PAS-positive sarcoplasmic cores between their myofibrils. Heavy pigs tended to have larger cores (up to a mean maximum diameter of 13.4 μm), more fibres with cores, and more cores per fibre. The pigs involved exhibited no otherante-orpost-mortem muscle abnormalities.
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Swatland, H.J. Relationships between mitochondrial content and glycogen distribution in porcine muscle fibres. Histochem J 7, 459–469 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01003883
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01003883