Calcium activation of frog slow muscle fibres

Abstract

Skinned muscle fibres were prepared from the tonus bundle of the frog iliofibularis muscle and the contractile response elicited by applied calcium ions was studied. The fibre type was determined by electron microscopy. Fast fibres shortened many times more rapidly than slow fibres indicating that the slow contraction of slow fibres is an inherent property of the contractile mechanism. The extent of spread of contraction following local calcium application was much greater in slow than in fast fibres, a difference which is consistent with the relative sparsity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in slow fibres. The ability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum of slow fibres to accumulate calcium was demonstrated by the in-situ immobilization of calcium when oxalate solutions were added to the skinned fibre.