The Growth and Composition of Skeletal Muscle in the Chicken

CHANGES in the composition of fowl skeletal muscle during growth and development have previously been investigated by Robinson (1952) and Dickerson (1960). These workers have examined a number of protein constituents of the developing muscle of White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red chickens respectively. Their findings indicated that while there is an overall similarity between these two breeds, the pattern of development of certain fractions may differ to some degree. This seemed to be particularly so for the extracellular protein fraction which comprises the major portion of the connective tissue framework of the muscle. Although these differences may be due to genetic factors as Dickerson suggests, it is likely that different management and environmental conditions during the rearing of the experimental birds would also be important and should therefore be taken into account. In view of these considerations it was decided to carry out a somewhat similar study using…