Amino acid interactions in chick nutrition

Synopsis

A series of experiments has been conducted to investigate the specificity of the interaction between lysine and arginine in chick nutrition, in the light of the concept of agent and target advanced by Lewis (1965). Diets were designed in which the level of methionine, tryptophan, histidine, or threonine was appreciably inadequate, while the arginine concentration in each diet was marginally satisfactory. Excess lysine was added to these diets in a standard sequence.

The profound ill‐effects induced by excess lysine were, in all experiments, alleviated only by arginine and not by the amino acids originally limiting in the control diets. The findings support the existence of an unique relationship between lysine and arginine.

Notes

Present address: Department of Agricultural Biochemistry, The East of Scotland College of Agriculture, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, 9.