M. Wick1 and N. G. Marriott2
The Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences
Researchers continue to study the muscle cell to elucidate its role in meat tenderness. An increased knowledge of sarcomere architecture is essential to understanding the relationship of this contractile unit to muscle growth and development and ultimately meat tenderness. The central event in growth and development of the muscle cell is the precise assembly of the sarcomere, a highly ordered and complex array of numerous proteins. The biological mechanisms controlling the organization of the sarcomere have been extensively studied. This review, excerpted from an invited review article submitted to 1999 Recent Research Advances in Food and Agricultural Chemistry, will discuss the major components in the sarcomere with an emphasis on those components thought to contribute significantly to meat tenderness.
1 For more information, contact at: The Ohio State University,
126 Vivian Hall, 2121 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210, 614-688-3018, Fax 614-292-0218,
e-mail: wick.13@osu.edu
2 Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061