Protein Deposition in Animals

Book excerpt: Protein Deposition in Animals explores the factors controlling protein deposition in farm animals including fish, poultry, and ruminants. Topics covered range from protein biosynthesis in eukaryotic cells and protein metabolism in intact animals to whole-body amino acid metabolism, synthesis of egg proteins, and metabolism of the fetus. The energy costs of protein metabolism, dietary constraints on nitrogen retention, and metabolism in muscle are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on the factors that influence protein production by animals. This book is comprised of 15 chapters; the first of which explains some fundamental aspects of protein synthesis, followed by a topic of the molecular control of protein breakdown. Two chapters then consider the measurement of whole-body protein metabolism and the integration of the metabolism of individual organs with the rest of the animal. Two 'tissues', the muscle and the fetus, are singled out for detailed analysis in subsequent chapters, while another chapter describes the synthesis of egg proteins. The factors that influence overall nitrogen retention by the animals are also examined, along with the energy costs of protein deposition, hormonal influences on protein deposition, and the use of anabolic agents to manipulate growth. Two chapters, one on poultry and the other on ruminants, are concerned with predicting rates of protein deposition. This text concludes by discussing the protein metabolism in fish. This book will be of interest to scientists working in the fields of applied biochemistry, animal nutrition and physiology, physiology, and agriculture.