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Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).

Publication ,  Journal Article
Moore, CD; Crocker, DE; Fahlman, A; Moore, MJ; Willoughby, DS; Robbins, KA; Kanatous, SB; Trumble, SJ
Published in: Frontiers in physiology
January 2014

Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) (NES) are known to be deep, long-duration divers and to sustain long-repeated patterns of breath-hold, or apnea. Some phocid dives remain within the bounds of aerobic metabolism, accompanied by physiological responses inducing lung compression, bradycardia, and peripheral vasoconstriction. Current data suggest an absence of type IIb fibers in pinniped locomotory musculature. To date, no fiber type data exist for NES, a consummate deep diver. In this study, NES were biopsied in the wild. Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle were revealed through succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) based fiber typing. Results indicated a predominance of uniformly shaped, large type I fibers and elevated myoglobin (Mb) concentrations in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of adults. No type II muscle fibers were detected in any adult sampled. This was in contrast to the juvenile animals that demonstrated type II myosin in Western Blot analysis, indicative of an ontogenetic change in skeletal muscle with maturation. These data support previous hypotheses that the absence of type II fibers indicates reliance on aerobic metabolism during dives, as well as a depressed metabolic rate and low energy locomotion. We also suggest that the lack of type IIb fibers (adults) may provide a protection against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury in vasoconstricted peripheral skeletal muscle.

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Published In

Frontiers in physiology

DOI

EISSN

1664-042X

ISSN

1664-042X

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

5

Start / End Page

217

Related Subject Headings

  • 3208 Medical physiology
  • 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1116 Medical Physiology
  • 0606 Physiology
 

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Moore, C. D., Crocker, D. E., Fahlman, A., Moore, M. J., Willoughby, D. S., Robbins, K. A., … Trumble, S. J. (2014). Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 217. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00217
Moore, Colby D., Daniel E. Crocker, Andreas Fahlman, Michael J. Moore, Darryn S. Willoughby, Kathleen A. Robbins, Shane B. Kanatous, and Stephen J. Trumble. “Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).Frontiers in Physiology 5 (January 2014): 217. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00217.
Moore CD, Crocker DE, Fahlman A, Moore MJ, Willoughby DS, Robbins KA, et al. Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Frontiers in physiology. 2014 Jan;5:217.
Moore, Colby D., et al. “Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 5, Jan. 2014, p. 217. Epmc, doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00217.
Moore CD, Crocker DE, Fahlman A, Moore MJ, Willoughby DS, Robbins KA, Kanatous SB, Trumble SJ. Ontogenetic changes in skeletal muscle fiber type, fiber diameter and myoglobin concentration in the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Frontiers in physiology. 2014 Jan;5:217.

Published In

Frontiers in physiology

DOI

EISSN

1664-042X

ISSN

1664-042X

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

5

Start / End Page

217

Related Subject Headings

  • 3208 Medical physiology
  • 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1116 Medical Physiology
  • 0606 Physiology