FREEZING AND FROZEN STORAGE OF ACTOMYOSIN FROM DIFFERENT SPECIES

A comparative study was made of the influence of freezing (-24 degrees C) and frozen storage (-12 degrees C) on the functional properties (v iscosity, solubility) and physico-chemical characteristics (aliphatic and aromatic hydrophobicity, ATPase activity) of actomyosin (AM) from myosystems (chicken and bake) of differing freezing and frozen stabili ty. The difference in functional behaviour between chicken and bake AM as a consequence of freezing and frozen storage suggests that. for ba ke AM, denaturation and aggregation occur essentially through direct a ggregation of AM molecules to produce AM aggregates, whereas in chicke n proteins, AM first dissociates into myosin and actin to produce myos in and myosin-actin aggregates.