Location: Poultry Research
Project Number: 6064-32630-011-007-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 15, 2024
End Date: Sep 14, 2025
Objective:
To determine the effects of sub-clinical enteric infections on muscle protein degradation in broilers by quantifying the concentrations of 3-methylhistidine in excreta and tissue.
Approach:
Broiler growth takes place either by increasing the rate of protein synthesis or by reducing the rate of protein degradation and studies have successfully estimated protein degradation rate by measuring 3-methylhistidine (3-MH) excretion in broilers. This amino acid derivative is formed by the methylation of histidine in actin and myosin and is a good indicator of protein degradation because it is exclusively present in muscle protein at constant amounts, is neither recycled or metabolized, and is rapidly and quantitatively excreted. Therefore, 3-MH may be a reliable bio-marker for assessing the effects of sub-clinical enteric infections on muscle protein degradation in broilers. A study was conducted by the ARS PI, and both excreta and tissue samples were collected from broilers challenged with a sub-clinical enteric infection. The Cooperator, who is an expert in protein degradation research, will be conducting the analysis to quantify 3-MH concentrations in both excreta and tissue samples.
