Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-skm99 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T04:33:34.365Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes:8. The concentrations and rates of accretion of amino acids in the foetuses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

C. Fraser
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen

Summary

Data are presented for the amino acid contents of 64 litters of Suffolk × (Finnish Landrace × Dorset Horn) foetuses varying in gestational age from 90 to 145 days and in litter size from one to five. The concentrations of glycine, cystine, arginine, proline and hydroxyproline in foetal dry matter increased with age, those for threonine, serine, glutamic acid, valine and methionine remained fairly constant while those for aspartic acid, phenylalanine, histidine and lysine tended to decrease. The most pronounced of these age effects were for cystine and hydroxyproline which increased in concentrations by 60 and 100% respectively over the final 2 months of foetal life. The rates of accretion of the individual amino acids are discussed in relation to estimates of the amounts that may be supplied by microbial protein.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council (1980). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Slough: The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Agricultural Research Council (1984). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Supplement No. 1. Slough: The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Davidson, J., Mathieson, J. & Boyne, A. W. (1970). The use of automation in determining nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method with final calculations by computer. Analyst 95, 181193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dickerson, J. W. T. (1962). The effect of development on the composition of a long bone of the pig, rat and fowl. Biochiemical Journal 82, 4755.Google ScholarPubMed
Dickerson, J. W. T. & Widdowson, E. M. (1960). Chemical changes in skeletal muscle during development. Biochemical Journal 74, 247257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Everitt, G. C. (1967). Residual effects of prenatal nutrition on the postnatal performance of Merino sheep. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 27, 5268.Google Scholar
Jackson, A. A. & Golden, M. H. N. (1981). Deamination versus transamination. In Nitrogen Metabolism in Man (ed. Waterlow, J. C. and Stephen, J. M. L.), pp. 203213. London: Applied Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Lemons, J. A., Adcock, E. W., Jones, M. D., Naughton, M. A., Meschia, G. & Battaglia, F. C. (1976). Umbilical uptake of amino acids in the unstressed fetal lamb. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 58, 14281434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, I., Robinson, J. J., Fraser, C. & Smart, R. I. (1979). Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes. 5. The accretion of nutrients in the foetuses and adnexa. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 92, 591603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, P., Teng, C., Battaglia, F. C. & Meschia, G. (1981). The rate of amino acid nitrogen and total nitrogen accumulation in the fetal lamb. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 167, 463468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, S. (1963). On the determination of cystine as cysteic acid. Journal of Biological Chemistry 238, 235237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reis, P. J. (1979). Effects of amino acids on the growth and properties of wool. In Physiological and Environmental Limitations to Wool Growth (ed. Black, J. L. and Reis, P. J.), pp. 223242. Armidale: University of New England Publishing Unit.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. (1983). Nutrition of the pregnant ewe. In Sheep Production (ed. Haresign, W.), pp. 111131. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J., McDonald, I., Fraser, C. & Crofts, R. M. J. (1977). Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes. 1. Growth of the products of conception. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 88, 539552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. J., McDonald, I., Fraser, C. & Gordon, J. G. (1980). Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes. 6. The efficiency of energy utilization for conceptus growth. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 94, 331338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schinckel, P. G. & Short, B. F. (1961). The influence of nutritional level during pre-natal and early postnatal life on adult fleece and body characters. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 12, 176202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slee, J. (1978). The effects of breed, birthcoat and body weight on the cold resistance of newborn lambs. Animal Production 27, 4349.Google Scholar
Storm, E., Brown, D. S. & Ørskov, E. R. (1983). The nutritive value of rumen micro-organisms in ruminants. 3. The digestion of microbial amino and nucleic acids in, and losses of endogenous nitrogen from, the small intestine of sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 50, 479485.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Storm, E. & Ørskov, E. R. (1983). The nutritive value of rumen micro-organisms in ruminants. 1. Largescale isolation and chemical composition of rumen micro-organisms. British Journal of Nutrition 50, 463470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widdowson, E. M. & Dickerson, J. W. T. (1960). The effect of growth and function on the chemical composition of soft tissues. Biochemical Journal 77, 3043.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed