ANALYSIS OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION BY ULTRAVIOLET MICROBEAM DISRUPTION OF SARCOMERE STRUCTURE

In an effort to differentiate between the sliding filament theory for muscle contraction and alternative views which propose attachment between actin and myosin filaments at or across the H zone, rabbit psoas myofibrils were irradiated in various areas of the sarcomere with an ultraviolet microbeam. Irradiation of the I band appears to destroy the actin filaments; in vitro irradiation of F actin causes an irreversible depolymerization of the protein. Irradiation of the A band disorients the myosin but causes no apparent loss of dry mass. These effects are maximal at the wavelength of maximum absorption of the proteins involved. Actin filaments, released at the Z line of a sarcomere, are seen to slide into the A band on addition of ATP. Irradiation of a full A band prevents contraction, whereas irradiation of two-thirds of the A band, leaving a lateral edge intact, permits contraction at the non-irradiated edge. Thus contraction can occur in what is in essence only one-third of a sarcomere, eliminating any necessity for postulated H zone connections. These observations are in complete accord with the classical sliding filament theory but incompatible with either the contralateral filament hypothesis or the actin folding model for muscle contraction.