Molecular Weight of Cytoplasmic Malate Dehydrogenase,Mitochondrial Malate Dehydrogenase and Lactate Dehydrogenase of a Freshwater Catfish

The multiple molecular forms of cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase (cMDH), mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (mMDH ) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH ) were studied in the liver and skeletal muscle of the freshwater catfish, Clarias batrachus. There were two electrophoretically distinguishable bands (AA andBB) of cMDH and mMDH which suggests that they are apparently encoded at two gene loci (A and B) in both the tissues.However, the presence of a single band (LDH-1 ) of LDH in liver and double bands (LDH-1and LDH-2) in skeletal muscle in which LDH-2 was predominant reflects the differential expression of LDH genes in different metabolic tissues to meet the requirement of energy production. The AA isoform (74 kd) of liver cMDH was smaller than those of the AA form (110 kd) of skeletal muscle. In contrast, the BB isoform of liver (42 kd) and skeletal muscle (54 kd) were more or less similar in size. Unlike the case of cMDH, the molecular weight of AA isoform (115 kd) of liver mMDH was higher than those of the AA form (87kd) of skeletal muscle. Whereas the molecular weight of BB isoform (58 kd) of liver was in proximity to the weight of BB form (44 kd) of skeletal muscle mMDH. The size of AA isoform (74 kd) of liver cMDH was smaller, while the AA isoform (110 kd) of skeletal muscle was larger as compared to AA form of mMDH in the liver (115 kd) and skeletal muscle (87 kd). But the size of BB isoform of both the isozymes was almost equal in these metabolic tissues. The molecular weight of liver LDH-1 (96 kd) was close to the weight of LDH-1 (82 kd) in skeletal muscle. The molecular weight of skeletal muscle LDH-2 was deduced as 37 kd which is much more lower than the weight of LDH-1 in liver and skeletal muscle. The smaller size of LDH-2 in skeletal muscle may be of a physiological significance in this anaerobic tissue