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Differences in the isodesmin pattern between the electric organs of Electrophorus electricus L. 1998

M L Costa, and C S Mermelstein, and M M Fróes, and C Chagas, and V Moura Neto
Departamento de Histologia e Embriologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. mlcosta@chagas. biof.ufrj.br

Desmin, the intermediate filament protein of muscle, is present in the electric organs of Electrophorus electricus L. as five isovariants, instead of the one to two isovariants found in muscle. We analyzed the isodesmin pattern in the three different electric organs using densitometry of Coomassie blue-stained bands in electrofocusing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We were able to compare the relative amount of each of the five desmin isovariants in an isodesmin pattern characteristic of each electric organ. These patterns proved to be, in some cases, statistically different. Desmin in each electric organ could have slightly different functions in order to correlate with the organ-specific isovariant patterns.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007382 Intermediate Filaments Cytoplasmic filaments intermediate in diameter (about 10 nanometers) between the microfilaments and the microtubules. They may be composed of any of a number of different proteins and form a ring around the cell nucleus. Tonofilaments,Neurofilaments,Filament, Intermediate,Filaments, Intermediate,Intermediate Filament,Neurofilament,Tonofilament
D007525 Isoelectric Focusing Electrophoresis in which a pH gradient is established in a gel medium and proteins migrate until they reach the site (or focus) at which the pH is equal to their isoelectric point. Electrofocusing,Focusing, Isoelectric
D003720 Densitometry The measurement of the density of a material by measuring the amount of light or radiation passing through (or absorbed by) the material. Densitometries
D003893 Desmin An intermediate filament protein found predominantly in smooth, skeletal, and cardiac muscle cells. Localized at the Z line. MW 50,000 to 55,000 is species dependent. Skeletin
D004557 Electric Organ In about 250 species of electric fishes, modified muscle fibers forming disklike multinucleate plates arranged in stacks like batteries in series and embedded in a gelatinous matrix. A large torpedo ray may have half a million plates. Muscles in different parts of the body may be modified, i.e., the trunk and tail in the electric eel, the hyobranchial apparatus in the electric ray, and extrinsic eye muscles in the stargazers. Powerful electric organs emit pulses in brief bursts several times a second. They serve to stun prey and ward off predators. A large torpedo ray can produce of shock of more than 200 volts, capable of stunning a human. (Storer et al., General Zoology, 6th ed, p672) Electric Organs,Organ, Electric,Organs, Electric
D004593 Electrophorus A genus of fish, in the family GYMNOTIFORMES, capable of producing an electric shock that immobilizes fish and other prey. The species Electrophorus electricus is also known as the electric eel, though it is not a true eel. Eel, Electric,Electric Eel,Electrophorus electricus
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia

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