Skeletal muscle fibre composition in the dog and its relationship to athletic ability.

Skeletal limb muscles of the dog could generally be differentiated into three fibre types according to myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) (pH 9.4) and succinic dehydrogenase activities. However, because this was not always possible, for comparative purposes only, division into low myosin ATPase (slow twitch) type I and high myosin ATPase (fast twitch) type II fibres was used. The percentage of these fibre types in m deltoideus, m triceps brachii caput longum, m vastus lateralis, m gluteus medius, m biceps femoris and m semitendinosus was examined in the greyhound, crossbred and foxhound. In all muscles the greyhound had a significantly higher percentage of fibres with high myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4 than the other breeds, with almost 100 per cent in most muscles examined. The activities of nine enzymes and glycogen concentration were determined in m gluteus medius and m semitendinosus of the greyhound and crossbred. Significantly higher levels of creatine kinase, aldolase, alanine aminotransferase and citrate synthase and significantly lower activities of 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase and hexokinase were found in both muscles of the greyhound. The implications of these findings are discussed.