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Neurofilament subunits in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were examined using five antibodies: NFH, RT97 and NFHP- recognise the 200 kDa subunit (NF200); NFH recognises both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of NF200 whereas RT97 and NFHP- are specific for the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms respectively; 155 and anti-68 kD recognise the 155 kDa and 68 kDa subunits respectively. All the antibodies apart from NFHP- distinguished between the two populations of neurons corresponding to the light (L) and small dark (SD) cell types as previously shown for RT97. This demonstrates that L and SD neurons contain different levels of neurofilament and that the ability to discriminate between them is not unique to the antibody RT97. It is also evident that DRG neurons contain neurofilament composed of all three subunits. Since NFH and RT97, but not NFHP-, distinguished between the two populations, it appears that it is the presence of the phosphorylated form of NF200 that provides the basis for discrimination between the two cell types. After dephosphorylation of the neurofilament, NFHP- also discriminated between the two populations, indicating that there is more NF200 regardless of phosphorylation state in the L neurons. Observations made from unfixed DRGs indicate that all neurons contain some neurofilament and the neurofilament rich and neurofilament poor populations were also apparent. The use of colchicine apparently caused a small increase in neurofilament levels in at least some perikarya, presumably due to its blocking effect on axoplasmic transport. This caused some SD neurons to become neurofilament rich. We conclude that L neurons contain more neurofilament than SD neurons since both cell types contain non-phosphorylated NF200, but the L neurons also contain a much greater amount of the phosphorylated form.

SUMMARYGhost crabs possess rapid running capabilities, which make them good candidates for comparing invertebrate exercise physiology with that of more extensively studied vertebrates. While a number of studies have examined various aspects of running physiology and biomechanics in terrestrial crabs, none to date have defined the basic skeletal muscle fiber types that power locomotion. In the current study, we investigated skeletal muscle fiber types comprising the extensor and flexor carpopodite muscles in relation to running performance in the ghost crab. We used kinematic analyses to determine stride frequency and muscle shortening velocity and found that both parameters are similar to those of comparably sized mammals but slower than those observed in running lizards. Using several complementary methods, we found that the muscles are divided into two primary fiber types: those of the proximal and distal regions possess long sarcomeres (6.2±2.3 μm) observed in crustacean slow fibers and have characteristics of aerobic fibers whereas those of the muscle mid-region have short sarcomeres (3.5±0.4 μm) characteristic of fast fibers and appear to be glycolytic. Each fiber type is characterized by several different myofibrillar protein isoforms including multiple isoforms of myosin heavy chain (MHC), troponin I (TnI), troponin T (TnT) and a crustacean fast muscle protein, P75. Three different isoforms of MHC are differentially expressed in the muscles, with fibers of the mid-region always coexpressing two isoforms at a 1:1 ratio within single fibers. Based on our analyses, we propose that these muscles are functionally divided into a two-geared system, with the aerobic fibers used for slow sustained activities and the glycolytic mid-region fibers being reserved for explosive sprints. Finally, we identified subtle differences in myofibrillar isoform expression correlated with crab body size, which changes by several orders of magnitude during an animalʼs lifetime.

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