Obliquely-striated muscle is not just for super-elongation

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Creator

Olszewski, Julia
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology

Abstract

Since the discovery of the sliding filament theory, scientists have made strong connections between the structure and function of cross-striated muscle. These connections are tenuous for obliquely-striated muscle both because of its complex geometry and because of a relative lack of research on this exclusively invertebrate muscle type. This paper will review the diversity of obliquely-striated muscle and the theories that aim to connect the structure and function of this muscle. It will then explore these theories through a geometric model that directly relates the structure of obliquely-striated muscle to its length-tension curve. The review and model suggest that obliquely-striated muscle may not be primarily for super-elongation, as previously suggested, and that the initial striation angle of the muscle could be enough to explain the muscle performance in all but one case.

Date of publication