Action of bacterial growth on the sarcoplasmic and urea-soluble proteins from muscle. I. Effects of Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella enteritidis, Achromobacter liquefaciens, Streptococcus faecalis, and Kurthia zopfi.

Comparisons of the starch-gel patterns of uninoculated aseptic control samples from rabbit and pig muscle with similar samples inoculated and incubated with Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella enteritidis, Achromobacter liquefaciens, and Kurthia zopfii were made. Results indicated that C. perfringens caused extensive alteration in the proteins or enzymes, or both, of the sarcoplasmic fraction of porcine muscle, whereas S. enteritidis and S. faecalis caused complete breakdown of only myoglobin. Neither A. liquefaciens nor K. zopfii showed any measurable amount of proteolysis in the sarcoplasmic fraction from pig muscle. Although some of the bands in the starch-gel pattern of rabbit muscle decreased in size and intensity of staining, complete proteolysis of any protein fraction was absent for all test organisms. The disc-gel patterns of the 8 m urea-soluble proteins showed that C. perfringens caused extensive proteolysis in pig muscle and a lesser extent of proteolysis in rabbit muscle. None of the other organisms utilized in this study had any measurable effect upon the urea-soluble proteins. In addition, a simple procedure for aseptic isolation of muscle samples for studying meat spoilage is outlined. Results indicate that careful sanitation and cleanliness will give suitable samples for meat spoilage investigations.