The effect of single essential amino acid deprivation on chick growth and nitrogen and energy balances at ad libitum- and equalized-food intakes

Effects of dietary methionine supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity and immune function in intra-uterine growth-retarded suckling piglets

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with L -methionine (L -Met), DL -methionine (DL -Met) and calcium salt of the methionine hydroxyl analog (MHA-Ca) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity and immune function in intra-uterine growth-retarded (IUGR) suckling piglets. Six normal birthweight (NBW) female piglets and 24 same-sex IUGR piglets were selected at birth. Piglets were fed nutrient adequate basal diet supplemented with 0.08% L -alanine (NBW-CON), 0.08% L -alanine (IUGR-CON), 0.12% L -Met (IUGR-LM), 0.12% DL -Met (IUGR-DLM) and 0.16% MHA-Ca (IUGR-MHA-Ca) from 7 to 21 days of age respectively (n = 6). The results indicated that IUGR decreased average daily milk (dry matter) intake and average daily gain and increased feed conversion ratio of suckling piglets (p < 0.05). Compared with the NBW-CON piglets, IUGR also impaired villus morphology and reduced antioxidant capacity and immune homeostasis in the intestine of IUGR-CON piglets (p < 0.05). Supplementation with L -Met enhanced jejunal villus height (VH) and villus area and ileal VH of IUGR piglets compared with IUGR-CON piglets (p < 0.05). Similarly, DL -Met supplementation increased VH and the ratio of VH to crypt depth in the jejunum compared with IUGR-CON pigs (p < 0.05). Supplementation with L -Met and DL -Met (0.12%) tended to increase reduced glutathione content and reduced glutathione: oxidized glutathione ratio and decrease protein carbonyl concentration in the jejunum of piglets when compared with the IUGR-CON group (p < 0.10). However, supplementation with MHA-Ca had no effect on the intestinal redox status of IUGR piglets (p > 0.10). In conclusion, supplementation with either L -Met or DL -Met has a beneficial effect on the intestinal morphology and antioxidant capacity of IUGR suckling piglets.

Responses to nutrients in farm animals: implications for production and quality

It is well known that any quantitative (energy and protein levels) and qualitative (nature of the diet, nutrient dynamic) changes in the feeding of animals affect metabolism. Energy expenditure and feed efficiency at the whole-body level, nutrient partitioning between and within tissues and organs and, ultimately, tissue and organ characteristics are the major regulated traits with consequences on the quality of the meat and milk produced. Recent progress in biology has brought to light important biological mechanisms which explain these observations: for instance, regulation by the nutrients of gene expression or of key metabolic enzyme activity, interaction and sometimes cross-regulation or competition between nutrients to provide free energy (ATP) to living cells, indirect action of nutrients through a complex hormonal action, and, particularly in herbivores, interactions between trans-fatty acids produced in the rumen and tissue metabolism. One of the main targets of this nutritional regulation is a modification of tissue insulin sensitivity and hence of insulin action. In addition, the nutritional control of mitochondrial activity (and hence of nutrient catabolism) is another major mechanism by which nutrients may affect body composition and tissue characteristics. These regulations are of great importance in the most metabolically active tissues (the digestive tract and the liver) and may have undesirable (i.e. diabetes and obesity in humans) or desirable consequences (such as the production of fatty liver by ducks and geese, and the production of fatty and hence tasty meat or milk with an adapted fatty acid profile).

Methionine deprivation regulates the S6K1 pathway and protein synthesis in avian QM7 myoblasts without activating the GCN2/eIF2 alpha cascade

Amino acids modulate mRNA translation through the 70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K1) and the general control nondepressible 2 protein kinase (GCN2)/eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha eIF2 alpha pathways. The aim of the present study was therefore to explore the signaling cascades potentially modulated by methionine availability in quail muscle QM7 myoblasts using media providing all other amino acids. Methionine deprivation caused a lower S6K1 phosphorylation compared with control (Ctl) cells. Supplying the methionine-deprived media with L- and DL-methionine isomers restored S6K1 phosphorylation to the levels observed in Ctl cells. Methionine also regulated downstream S6K1 targets (i.e. ribosomal protein S6 and eukaryotic elongation factor 2), modulated translation preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly, and stimulated protein synthesis. Replacing the lacking methionine with D-methionine or its hydroxyanalog [2-hydroxy-(4-methylthio) butanoic acid] did not restore S6K1 activation or protein synthesis. Conversely, the S6K1 pathway was activated by a methionine precursor, the ketoanalog of methionine. Methionine availability regulated the GCN2/eIF2 alpha pathway. However, our results indicate that methionine deprivation led to lower protein synthesis without activating eIF2 alpha phosphorylation, a process known to limit the formation of the 43S PIC. Using the amino acid alcohol methioninol did not decrease S6K1 phosphorylation or activity and did not alter the regulation of protein synthesis by methionine. These findings suggest that methionine exerts an effect on S6K1 signaling and protein synthesis in avian QM7 myoblasts through a mechanism partly independent of the global regulation via tRNA charging.

Mechanisms through which sulfur amino acids control protein metabolism and oxidative status

Amino acids regulate protein synthesis and breakdown (i.e., protein turnover) and consequently protein deposition, which corresponds to the balance between the two processes. Elucidating the mechanisms involved in such regulation is important from fundamental and applied points of view since it can provide a basis to optimize amino acid requirements and to control protein mass, body composition and so forth. Amino acids, which have long been considered simply as precursors of protein synthesis, are now recognized to exert other significant influences; that is, they are precursors of essential molecules, act as mediators or signal molecules and affect numerous functions. For example, amino acids act as mediators of metabolic pathways in the same manner as certain hormones. Thus, they modulate the activity of intracellular protein kinases involved in the regulation of metabolic pathways such as mRNA translation. We provide here an overview of the roles of amino acids as regulators of protein metabolism, by focusing particularly on sulfur amino acids. The potential importance of methionine as a "nutrient signal" is discussed in the light of recent findings. Emphasis is also placed on mechanisms controlling oxidative status since sulfur amino acids are involved in the synthesis of intracellular antioxidants (glutathione, taurine etc.) and in the methionine sulfoxide reductase antioxidant system.

Utilization of spray-dried blood cells and crystalline isoleucine in nursery pig diets1

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate spray-dried blood cells (SDBC) and crystalline isoleucine in nursery pigs. In Exp. 1, 120 pigs were used to evaluate 0, 2, 4, and 6% SDBC (as-fed basis) in a sorghum-based diet. There were six replicates of each treatment and five pigs per pen, with treatments imposed at an initial BW of 9.3 kg and continued for 16 d. Increasing SDBC from 0 to 4% had no effect on ADG, ADFI, and G:F. Pigs fed the 6% SDBC diet had decreased ADG (P < 0.01) and G:F (P = 0.06) compared with pigs fed diets containing 0, 2, or 4% SDBC. In Exp. 2, 936 pigs were used to test diets containing 2.5 or 5% SDBC (as-fed basis) vs. two control diets. There were six replicates of each treatment at industry (20 pigs per pen) and university (six pigs per pen) locations. Treatments were imposed at an initial BW of 5.9 and 8.1 kg at the industry and the university locations, respectively, and continued for 16 d. Little effect on pig performance was noted by supplementing 2.5% SDBC, with or without crystalline Ile, in nursery diets. Pigs fed the 5% SDBC diet without crystalline Ile had decreased ADG (P < 0.01), ADFI (P < or = 0.10), and G:F (P < 0.05) compared with pigs fed the control diets. Supplementation of Ile restored ADG, ADFI, and G:F to levels that were not different from that of pigs fed the control diets. In Exp. 3, 1,050 pigs were used to test diets containing 5, 7.5, or 9% SDBC (as-fed basis) vs. a control diet. There were six replicates of each treatment at the industry (20 pigs per pen) location and five replicates at the university (six pigs per pen) locations. Treatments were imposed at an initial BW of 6.3 and 7.0 kg at the industry and university locations, respectively, and continued for 16 d. Supplementation of 5% SDBC without crystalline Ile decreased ADG and G:F (P < 0.01) compared with pigs fed the control diet, but addition of Ile increased ADG (P < 0.01) to a level not different from that of pigs fed the control diet. The decreased ADG, ADFI, and G:F noted in pigs fed the 7.5% SDBC diet was improved by addition of Ile (P < 0.01), such that ADG and ADFI did not differ from those of pigs fed the control diet. Pigs fed diets containing 9.5% SDBC exhibited decreased ADG, ADFI, and G:F (P < 0.01), all of which were improved by Ile addition (P < 0.01); however, ADG (P < 0.05) and G:F (P = 0.09) remained lower than for pigs fed the control diet. These data indicate that SDBC can be supplemented at relatively high levels to nursery diets, provided that Ile requirements are met.

Growth, feed intake, and plasma thyroid hormone levels in chicks fed dietary excesses of essential amino acids

The consequences of dietary excesses of 10 essential amino acids, His, Ile, Phe, Trp, Val, Arg, Leu, Lys, Met, Thr, on growth, feed intake and plasma levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in growing chicks were investigated. Each amino acid was added to a starter ration to bring it to a level 2.84x above the National Research Council (1984) requirement. Excesses of all amino acids except His and Leu caused significant reductions in weight gain. Of the amino acid excesses that reduced growth, only Trp and Val did not also reduce feed intake. Gain:feed decreased significantly only in chicks consuming excess Arg, Lys, Phe, and Trp. Chicks fed excesses of Ile and Val had plasma T3 levels that were statistically higher than control levels; none of the other amino acid excesses significantly altered blood concentrations of this hormone. Compared to the control, plasma T4 levels were not significantly altered by the amino acid excesses, but there was a significant difference between Trp and Val, the latter being lower. This study shows that high dietary levels of essential amino acids cause depressions in weight gain and feed intake, and, with Ile and Val, these depressions are accompanied by elevations in plasma T3 levels. Otherwise, the amino acid excesses had little effect on plasma levels of thyroid hormones.

Growth and plasma thyroid hormone concentrations of chicks fed diets deficient in essential amino acids

Consumption of low protein (10%) diets is known to produce elevations in plasma triiodothyronine (T3) in growing chickens. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of individual essential amino acid deficiencies on plasma thyroid hormone concentrations. For 13 to 15 d, chicks were fed either a control diet free-choice, one of six amino acid-deficient diets free-choice, or the control diet, pair-fed at the level consumed by chicks fed each of the deficient diets. The control diet was a 50/50 mixture of broiler starter and purified amino acid diets. The amino acids, fed at the indicated percentages of National Research Council recommendations, were: arginine, 60%; lysine, 60%; threonine, 60%; leucine, 75%; isoleucine, 75%; and methionine, 50%. Feed consumption and weight gain were significantly lower in all deficient groups than in the free-choice control group. In all cases except leucine, deficient chicks also gained less weight than their pair-fed controls. Plasma T3 levels in the groups deficient in arginine, lysine, isoleucine, or methionine were higher than in their respective pair-fed controls. However, only with the isoleucine deficiency did T3 levels exceed those of control chicks given free access to feed. Thyroxine levels were significantly lower than control levels only with the lysine deficiency. These results suggest that changes in circulating levels of thyroid hormones in a protein deficiency may be a consequence of selected amino acid deficits, because individual essential amino acids, when deficient in the diet, do not exert the same effect on circulating levels of thyroid hormones.

Relative responses of protein turnover in three different skeletal muscles to dietary lysine deficiency in chicks

1. The effect of lysine deficiency was analysed on muscle protein turnover in 2-, 3- and 4-week-old growing broilers. Protein fractional synthesis rates (FSR, in %/d) were measured by a reliable in vivo technique (flooding dose of L-[4-3H] phenylalanine) in the Pectoralis major (PM), the Anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) and the Sartorius (SART) muscles. Protein fractional breakdown rates (FBR, in %/d) were estimated as the difference between the synthesis rates and the growth rates of tissue protein. 2. Lysine deficiency resulted in significant increases in muscle FSR and FBR. When expressed in absolute rates (g/d), tissue protein deposition was reduced whatever the tissue. This phenomenon was accompanied by decreased protein synthesis (ASR). 3. The protein turnover responsiveness to the lysine deficiency appeared to depend on the studied muscle, since the PM muscle was the most sensitive whereas the SART and ALD muscles presented a lower sensitivity.

Dietary lysine deficiency greatly affects muscle and liver protein turnover in growing chickens

We analysed the respective influences of age and lysine deficiency on skeletal muscle and liver protein turnover. Growing male broilers were fed ad libitum on isoenergetic diets containing 200 g crude protein/kg which varied in their lysine content (7.7 or 10.1 g/kg). Fractional rates of protein synthesis (FSR) were measured in vivo in the liver and the pectoralis major muscle of 2-, 3- and 4-week-old chickens (flooding dose of L-[4-3H]phenylalanine). Fractional rates of proteolysis (FBR) were estimated for the same tissues as the difference between synthesis and growth. Over the 2-week period liver FSR and FBR were unchanged, whereas muscle FSR decreased with age. This developmental decline was related to the lower capacity for protein synthesis (Cs) without any modifications of the translational efficiency. Whatever the age, lysine deficiency resulted in significant decreases in body weight, tissue protein content and tissue protein deposition, apparently because of reduced amounts of proteins synthesized. We recorded a difference in the response of the two tissues to lysine deficiency, the pectoralis major being more sensitive than the liver. When comparing birds of the same age, liver FSR and FBR were not modified by the diet, whereas muscle FSR, Cs and FBR were higher in chicks fed on a lysine-deficient diet than in the controls. Conversely, when chicks of similar weights were compared, the main effect of the dietary deficiency was an increase in muscle FBR. The results suggest that lysine deficiency not only delayed chick development so that protein turnover was affected, but also induced greater changes in metabolism. Thus, the principal mechanism whereby muscle mass decreased appeared to be a change in FBR.

Limiting order of amino acids in corn and soybean meal for growth of the chick

Several experiments were conducted with crossbred chicks during the period 8 to 22 d posthatching to establish the limiting order of amino acids (AA) in corn and dehulled soybean meal (SBM) and in a corn-SBM mixture. Cecectomized adult cockerels were used to determine true AA digestibilities in both corn and SBM, and AA fortification levels were based upon bringing digestible AA levels to their ideal levels (expressed as a percentage of CP). Ideal ratios (percentage of lysine) used were Lys, 100; sulfur AA (SAA), 72; Arg, 105; Val, 77; Thr, 67; Trp, 16; Ile, 67; His, 37; Phe+Tyr, 105; and Leu, 111. Diets were fed at 10% CP, but they contained corn or SBM in amounts that would just meet the ideal concentration of the AA in greatest excess (Leu for corn; Phe for SBM). Thus, the corn diets contained only 5.6% CP from corn whereas the SBM diets contained only 8.0% CP from SBM. Diets were adjusted to 10% CP from AA additions, with glutamate varying as necessary. The limiting order of AA in corn was 1) Lys, 2) Thr, 3) Trp, 4) Arg, Ile, and Val, 5) Met+cystine, 6) Phe+Tyr, and 7) His. In SBM, the limiting order was 1)Met+cystine, 2) Thr, 3) Lys and Val, 4) nonspecific amino nitrogen, and 5) His. The order of limiting AA in the corn-SBM mixture was 1) Met, 2) Thr, 3) Lys, 4) Val, 5) Arg, and 6) Trp.

[Methodical studies of metabolism oriented methionine requirement determination in broiler chicks. 2. Effect of feeding frequency on methionine utilization]

The effect of feeding frequency (daily 2 times feeding for 1 hour or 6 times feeding for 30 minutes) and a different methionine content of the diet on weight gain, N-balance and metabolic 35S-methionine degradation was investigated in broiler chickens. Weight gain and N-balance were not improved by increased feeding frequency. At the high feeding frequency, weight gain and N-balance were even depressed when diets with methionine deficiency (without methionine supplementation) were fed. No effects of feeding frequency and the amount of DL-methionine supplementation on the level of excreted 35S after i.v. injection of 35S-methionine were observed.

Partitioning of nutrients for growth and other metabolic functions: efficiency and priority considerations

The raw materials for proteinaceous growth in the avian are amino acids supplied from protein ingestion and from body protein degradation. Maximal efficiency of utilization (i.e., retention) of absorbed nitrogen approximates 76%. This occurs when a well-balanced mixture of amino acids is ingested. The utilization efficiency of individual dietary amino acids varies around the 76% figure, with slow-turnover amino acids such as lysine being used more efficiently (80%) than fast-turnover amino acids such as isoleucine (61%). A paucity of information exists on metabolic priorities for amino acids at various levels of amino acid deficiency. It is clear, however, that dietary histidine is used with priority for protein synthesis before it is shunted toward carnosine or anserine biosynthesis. Likewise, cysteine use by chicks for growth has priority over cysteine use for glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis. With a cysteine-free diet containing the minimal methionine requirement for maximal growth, hepatic GSH is depressed and remains low and unchanged until about 30% of the growth need for cysteine is satisfied, at which point GSH begins accumulating rapidly. In rats, liver GSH begins accumulating rapidly even with very small doses of cysteine. This suggests that the metabolic priority for cysteine in rats is as great for GSH synthesis as it is for growth.

Growth prediction of young chicks: do equal deficiencies of different essential amino acids produce equal growth responses?

1. Prediction of the growth of young chicks was attempted by means of a computerised mathematical model, by fitting a 4 parameter kinetic equation (Mercer, 1982) to data obtained experimentally and from the literature. Amino acid antagonisms between arginine and lysine, and between branched-chain amino acids were taken into account. 2. In order to pool the data, dietary concentrations of essential amino acids were standardised by expressing as percentages of requirements according to Japanese Feeding Standard (1984), and growth responses were expressed relative to growth at or above this requirement. 3. The kinetic model gave an excellent fit (R2 = 0.92-0.99) to independent growth data obtained experimentally and from the literature, validating the use of the equation. 4. It was implied from predicted growth that the responses to alterations in dietary concentrations of different essential amino acids differed substantially, in a characteristic pattern, even when percentages of requirements were the same. 5. The validity of the model was tested against data that were not used in its construction. It was found that the simulation model could predict the growth of young chicks satisfactorily from dietary amino acid patterns.

Effect of methionine and lysine deficiencies on protein synthesis in the liver and oviduct and in the whole body of laying hens

For laying hens, protein synthesis in the liver, in the oviduct (magnum and remaining portions), and in the whole body was measured in vivo in order to investigate the effect of a dietary deficiency of methionine or lysine. The rate of protein synthesis in tissues was calculated from the incorporation of L-[15N]phenylalanine into the protein fraction; whole-body protein synthesis was estimated from the plateau enrichment of free [15N]phenylalanine in plasma. The enrichment of labeled phenylalanine was analyzed by using a gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer, following a primed infusion of the isotope for 6 h. The whole-body protein synthesis of laying hens fed diets deficient in amino acids was significantly lower than that of control hens. Protein synthesis in the liver, magnum, and remainder of the oviduct was decreased by a dietary deficiency of the amino acids studied with larger rates of decrease than for the whole-body analysis. The proportion of reduction in protein synthesis resulting from the sum of the tissues studied, compared with that of the whole body, was 36 and 50%, respectively, for a deficiency of methionine and lysine.

Whole-body protein turnover in chicks fed control, histidine, or methionine plus cystine-free diets

Whole-body protein turnover rates were measured in chicks fed control, histidine-free (-His), and methionine plus cystine-free (-Met, Cys) diets. After chicks were fed the experimental diets ad libitum for 7 days, they were injected with a massive dose of L-[4-3H]-phenylalanine (40 microCi/100 g body weight) and rate of protein synthesis was estimated from the incorporation of phenylalanine into protein. The rate of protein degradation was estimated as the difference between the synthesis and growth rates of protein. In chicks fed the amino acid-devoid diets, the fractional synthesis rates of protein (FSR, percent per day) were significantly lower than those in control chicks, whereas fractional degradation rates of protein (percent per day) were constant for all dietary treatments. The FSR in -Met, Cys chicks was lower than that in -His chicks and the lower FSR in -Met, Cys chicks seemed to result in more body protein loss. The RNA/protein ratio of chicks was almost the same in all treatments, but the protein synthesized per unit RNA varied depending on the dietary treatments. The lower amount of protein synthesized per unit RNA in -Met, Cys chicks was postulated to result from inhibition of protein synthesis by a shortage of available methionine associated with a higher degradation rate of methionine itself. These results indicated that different growth responses between -His and -Met, Cys chicks were primarily caused by the difference in the rates of protein synthesis.

Improvement of body weight and nitrogen balance of chicks fed histidine-free or lysine-free diets with supplementation of graded levels of sulfur-containing amino acids

To demonstrate the nutritional specificity of essential amino acids, body weight change and nitrogen balance were compared in chicks equalized-fed a histidine-free or lysine-free diet with 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100% requirement of sulfur-containing amino acids (SAA). With an increase of SAA level up to 40% of its requirement, body weight and nitrogen balance increased irrespective of complete deficiency of histidine or lysine. Above 40% of the SAA requirement, these parameters reached plateaus. The intersection points of the two regression lines at which the responses of body weight change and nitrogen balance altered were 49.8 and 52.1% in the chicks fed the histidine-free diet and 44.7 and 32.6% in the chicks fed the lysine-free diet, respectively. These values are quite agreeable with the estimate of the nutritional score of the amino acid mixtures in an earlier report (Kino and Okumura, 1986). It was demonstrated that the effect of essential amino acid deficiency does not always directly associate with the percentage deficit relative to its requirement, and there exists nutritional specificity of essential amino acids.