Pre- and postnatal development of lactate and malate dehydrogenases in the marsupial didelphis marsupialis virginiana

Abstract

1. 1. The ontogeny of LDH isozymes from heart, liver and kidney of the American opossum, Didelphis marsupialis virginiana closely parallel those from the same tissues of the mouse Mus musculus. 2. 2. The specific activity of LDH rapidly increases between days 20 and 60 of pouch life after which it sharply declines to adult levels in heart and liver and gradually declines in kidney. 3. 3. MDH isozymes show little ontogenetic variation and no obvious tissue-specific differences. The specific activity profiles of MDH from heart and liver resemble those of LDH while that of kidney reaches a peak much earlier at 25 days of pouch life. © 1975.