Protein Extracts and Aggregates Forming in Minced Cod (Gadus morhua) during Frozen Storage

Natural actomyosin was extracted from frozen minced cod muscle stored for up to 62 weeks at −20 °C with 0.6 M NaCl, and the insoluble aggregates, when formed, were solubilized successively with 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 2% SDS + 5% β-mercaptoethanol (ME) solutions, giving extracted fractions S1 (NaCl), S2 (SDS), and S3 (ME + SDS), precipitates insoluble in 0.6 M NaCl (P1) and 2% SDS (P2), and a precipitate not soluble in any of the agents used (P3). SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of fraction S1 showed that the proportion of the major proteins changed during frozen storage. Size exclusion chromatography showed a decrease in the peak containing myosin heavy chain (MHC) and actin (Ac). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of S1 showed at the outset a filamentous morphology associated with globules interconnected crosswise. As storage progressed, the number and size of aggregates increased. In fractions S2 and S3, the major proteins detected by SDS-PAGE were MHC and Ac. TEM showed a greater abundance of ring-shaped structures than in S1. TEM of the insoluble fractions showed a sarcomere-like structure, more pronounced the milder the solubilizing treatment and the longer the storage time.