Indirect fluorescence of primary and secondary myofibers in developing porcine muscle.

Cytochemical differentiation of two populations of developing skeletal myofibers has been demonstrated in fetal muscle with metachromatic fluorescence of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid by staining fresh frozed cryostat sections of developing porcine skeletal muscle with acridine orange (CL. 46005). Evidence is presented that supports the hypothesis that first-formed myofibers (primary myofibers) serve as a structural framework upon which myoblasts proliferate, fuse in linear sequence and give rise to a second population (secondary myofibers) of myofibers.