Types of myosin light chains present during the development of fast skeletal muscle in chick embryo

Abstract

The types of myosin light chains in developing fast skeletal muscle of chick embryo were characterized in terms of their mobilities on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and their reactions with antisera against adult fast, slow, or cardiac myosin light chains. Breast and leg muscles of adult chicken mainly contain fast-type myosin, while at early developmental stages, these muscles contain four classes of light chain as judged by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis; two of these light chains are of the slow and/or cardiac type and the other two are of the fast type. At late developmental stages, fast-type light chains are present in large amounts and slow and/or cardiac light chains exist only in small amounts. It is suggested that the qualitative changes in light chains during embryonic development are coordinated with those in heavy chains reported by Masaki and Yoshizaki (5).