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. 1971 Dec;22(6):1152–1158. doi: 10.1128/am.22.6.1152-1158.1971

Observations by Electron Microscopy on Pig Muscle Inoculated and Incubated with Pseudomonas fragi1

T R Dutson 1,2,2, A M Pearson 1,2, J F Price 1,2, G C Spink 1,2, P J V Tarrant 1,2
PMCID: PMC376502  PMID: 4109490

Abstract

Myofibrils from pig muscle inoculated and incubated with Pseudomonas fragi showed an extremely disrupted appearance as compared to uninoculated controls. There was an almost complete absence of material in the H zone, marked disruption of the A band (probably myosin), and some loss of dense material from the Z line. These changes indicated that marked proteolysis had occurred. Bacteria observed in spoiled muscle tissue exhibited protrusions or blebs on the outer surface of the cell walls. The blebs appeared to form detached globules that migrated into the muscle mass. Bacteria grown in non-muscle-containing media did not produce blebs, which indicates the blebs were induced by growth on muscle tissue. The possibility that the blebs and globules may contain a proteolytic enzyme responsible for myofibrillar disruption is discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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