EFFECT OF ANTE-MORTEM STRESS ON POST-MORTEM CHANGES OF TITIN I (α-CONNECTIN) INTO TITIN II (β-CONNECTIN) AND NEBULIN IN THE LIGHT AND DARK MUSCLE OF TAIWAN COUNTRY CHICKEN

Purified myofibrils were prepared from ante-mortem stress and control lots of Taiwan country chicken breast and thigh muscles at death and afler storage at $4^{\circ}C$ for 0, 1, 2, 3, and 7 days post-mortem. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polycrylamide gel electrophoresis (3.2%) and densitometer were used to examine the effect of ante-mortem stress and control storage of muscle on titin and nebulin. Results indicated that titin and nebulin were more rapidly degraded in the control and the ante-mortem stress light muscles than in the control and ante-mortem dark muscles of Taiwan country chicken. In contrast, nebulin was shown to be more resistance to degradation in the ante-mortem stress dark muscle than in the control light muscle.