Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Standardizing a Non-Lethal Method for Characterizing the Reproductive Status and Larval Development of Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida)
Published on: October 4, 2019
[Development of the muscle system and contractile activity in the mussel Mytilus trossulus (Mollusca, Bivalvia)]
Abstract:
The development of contractile apparatus was subjected to comparative analysis during ontogenesis of the mussel Mytilus trossulus. Indirect immunofluorescence with the polyclonal antibody against mussel twitchin, a protein of thick filaments, and florescent phalloidin as a marker of filamentous cell actin were used to monitor changes in the developing muscle system at different larval stages. The first definitive muscle structures were found at the late trochophore stage (36 h after fertilization) and starting from the midveliger stage (96 h), striated muscles, which are never present in adult mussels, were distinctly seen. The striated muscle periodicity was 1.25 microm in both mussle larvae and adult scallop. The contractile activities of veliger and adult muscles were measured using an electronic signal-processing videosystem. This work is the first complex study of morphological, biochemical, and physiological characteristics of the muscle system in the larvae and adult mollusks.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Muscular System
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Contraction
Formation of Muscle Fibers from Myoblasts
Muscle progenitor cells (MPCs) are formed from the myotomes. MPCs express genes that encode the transcription factors Pax3 and Pax7. Along with Pax 3/7, other transcription factors...
Smooth Muscle Contraction
The onset of contraction is triggered by an increase in calcium ions within the sarcoplasm, similar to the process in striated muscle. However, smooth muscles have a relatively smaller reservoir of the sarcoplasmic...
Structure and Organization of Smooth Muscles
Structure of smooth muscle cell
Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped with tapering ends and a...

