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First published online September 15, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3757-3763 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01206
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Electrical and mechanical properties and mode of innervation in scorpionfish sound-producing muscle fibres

Takakazu Kobayashi1,*, Tateo Daimon2, Ibuki Shirakawa1, Shigeru Chaen1 and Haruo Sugi1,{dagger}

1 Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
2 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan

{dagger} Author for correspondence (e-mail: sugi{at}med.teikyo-u.ac.jp)

Accepted 23 July 2004

To obtain information about the neural mechanism underlying sound production in teleost fish, we studied the electrical and mechanical properties and mode of innervation in the swimbladder muscle (SBM) fibres of scorpionfish Sebastiscus marmoratus. Action potentials of the SBM fibres in response to direct electrical stimulation neither exhibited overshoot nor propagated along the fibre. Stimulation of the motor nerve, however, uniformly evoked action potentials along the fibre. When neuromuscular transmission was blocked by curare, motor nerve stimulation uniformly evoked endplate potentials along the fibre. These results indicate that action potentials propagate along the nerve branches but not along the SBM fibre membrane. In accordance with the above results, histochemical studies showed that motor nerve branches run along the SBM fibres to form many endplates with cholinesterase activity, indicating multiterminal innervation. The SBM consisted of about 600 fibres, while its motor nerve contained about 100 axons, giving an innervation ratio of about 1:6. Like mammalian fast muscle fibres, the SBM fibres exhibited a low succinic dehydrogenase activity and a high ATPase activity. These results are discussed in connection with the function of the SBM fibres in producing sound.

Key words: sound-producing muscle, teleost fish, action potential conduction, multiterminal innervation, innervation ratio, endplate potential, scorpionfish, Sebastiscus marmoratus


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004