|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2 Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: syme{at}ucalgary.ca.
reported previously, artificial selection of house mice caused a 2.7-fold increase in voluntary wheel running of four replicate selected lines as compared with four randombred control lines. Two of the selected lines developed a high incidence of a smallmuscle phenotype ("mini muscles") in the plantar flexor group of the hind limb, which apparently results from a simple Mendelian recessive allele. At generations 36-38, we measured wheel running and key contractile characteristics of soleus and medial gastrocnemius muscles from normal and mini muscles in mice from these selected lines. Mice with mini muscles ran faster and a greater distance per day than normal individuals, but not longer. As expected, in mini-muscle mice the medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles were about 54% and 45% the mass of normal muscles, respectively, but the plantaris muscles were not different in mass and soleus muscles were actually 30% larger. In spite of the increased mass, contractile characteristics of the soleus were unchanged in any notable way between mini and normal mice. However, medial gastrocnemius muscles in mini mice were changed markedly toward a slower phenotype, having slower twitches, a more curved force-velocity relationship, produced about half the mass-specific isotonic power, 20-50% of the mass-specific cyclic work and power (only 10-25% the absolute power if the loss in mass is considered), and fatigued at about half the rate of normal muscles. These changes would promote increased, aerobically supported running activity, but may compromise activities that require high power, such as sprinting.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
K. M. Middleton, S. A. Kelly, and T. Garland Jr Selective breeding as a tool to probe skeletal response to high voluntary locomotor activity in mice Integr. Comp. Biol., September 1, 2008; 48(3): 394 - 410. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Hartmann, T. Garland Jr, R. M. Hannon, S. A. Kelly, G. Munoz, and D. Pomp Fine Mapping of "Mini-Muscle," a Recessive Mutation Causing Reduced Hindlimb Muscle Mass in Mice J. Hered., June 9, 2008; (2008) esn040v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. M. Hannon, S. A. Kelly, K. M. Middleton, E. M. Kolb, D. Pomp, and T. Garland Jr Phenotypic Effects of the "Mini-Muscle" Allele in a Large HR x C57BL/6J Mouse Backcross J. Hered., February 28, 2008; (2008) esn011v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. A. Chappell, T. Garland Jr, G. F. Robertson, and W. Saltzman Relationships among running performance, aerobic physiology and organ mass in male Mongolian gerbils J. Exp. Biol., December 1, 2007; 210(23): 4179 - 4197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. L. Rezende, F. R. Gomes, J. L. Malisch, M. A. Chappell, and T. Garland Jr. Maximal oxygen consumption in relation to subordinate traits in lines of house mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running J Appl Physiol, August 1, 2006; 101(2): 477 - 485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T. Garland Jr and S. A. Kelly Phenotypic plasticity and experimental evolution J. Exp. Biol., June 15, 2006; 209(12): 2344 - 2361. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. L. Rezende, T. Garland Jr, M. A. Chappell, J. L. Malisch, and F. R. Gomes Maximum aerobic performance in lines of Mus selected for high wheel-running activity: effects of selection, oxygen availability and the mini-muscle phenotype J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 2006; 209(1): 115 - 127. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |