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Abstract:
The resting anterior byssal retractor muscle of Mytilus edulis (ABRM) contains 1 -1.2 μmol ATP and 0.6 - 0.8 μmol ADP per g wet weight, traces of AMP and 0.1 - 0.2 μmol GTP plus UTP. The ATP content and the ratio of ADP : ATP remains almost constant during contraction, catch and subsequent serotonin induced relaxation, IMP could not be detected, not even during thaw contracture. Consequently the catch (viscous tone, fused state) is a reversible rigor distinct from rigor in vertebrate skeletal muscle which is caused by ATP deficiency. ATP produces a very much stronger contraction in isolated actomyosin systems of ABRM than UTP, ITP and GTP.
