Oxidative properties of carp red and white muscle

Substrate preferences of isolated mitochondria and maximal enzyme activities were used to assess the oxidative capacities of red muscle (RM) and white muscle (WM) of carp (Cyprinus carpio). A 14-fold higher activity of citrate synthase (CS) in RM reflects the higher mitochondrial density in this tissue. RM mitochondria oxidize pyruvate and fatty acyl carnitines (8:O, 12:O, 16:O) at similarly high rates. WM mitochondria oxidize these fatty acyl carnitines at 35-70% the rate of pyruvate, depending on chain length. WM has only half the carnitine palmitoyl transferase/CS ratio of RM, but similar ratios of beta-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase/CS. Ketone bodies are poor substrates for mitochondria from both tissues. In both tissues mitochondrial alpha-glycerophosphate oxidation was minimal, and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase was present at low activities, suggesting the alpha-glycerophosphate shuttle is of minor significance in maintaining cytosolic redox balance in either tissue. The mitochondrial oxidation rates of other substrates relative to pyruvate are as follows: alpha-ketoglutarate 90% (RM and WM); glutamate 45% (WM) and 70% (RM); proline 20% (WM) and 45% (RM). Oxidation of neutral amino acids (serine, glycine, alanine, beta-alanine) was not consistently detectable. These data suggest that RM and WM differ in mitochondrial properties as well as mitochondrial abundance. Whereas RM mitochondria appear to be able to utilize a wide range of metabolic fuels (fatty acids, pyruvate, amino acids but not ketone bodies), WM mitochondria appear to be specialized to use pyruvate.