A histochemical and ultrastructural study of heterogeneous red fibres of pigeon pectoralis muscle.

The oxidative fibres of pigeon pectoralis muscle are 'type II red' on the basis of high myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). The ATPase and SDH reactions do not characterize the heterogeneity of the red fibres in the normal pigeon pectoralis. Therefore, lipid, glycogen, phosphorylase, glycogen synthetase, SDH and ATPase reactions were studied in transverse sections of the pigeon pectoralis red fibre. This study has revealed the existence of an inherent heterogeneity between these red fibres. Three sub-populations distinguished were : (1) 'red1' fibres showing low fat but high glycogen and enzymes of glycogen metabolism (EGM); (2) 'red2' fibres displaying higher fat and higher amount of glycogen and EGM; and (3) 'red3' fibres possessing higher fat but lower content of glycogen and EGM. Ultrastructurally, one category of fibres (presumably red2 and red3) showed a higher concentration of fat; these fibres presumably possess higher synthetic capacity and lower (or higher?) utilization. Other mitochondria-loaded red fibres (presumably red1) documented here for the first time, showed fewer and smaller fat droplets indicating that they are 'predominantly lipid utilizers' and are incapable of storing large quantities of lipid. Moreover, the differing histochemical-ultrastructural attributes are presumably correlated with differences in levels of energetic metabolism, heat production and motor units of the red fibres.