Chemical Characterization of Inbred-strain Mouse Milk

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Abstract
Milk from 2 unrelated inbred strains of mice, DBA/2J and C57BL/6J, was found to differ both qualitatively and quantitatively with respect to the amino acid composition. These differences were evident in the unhydrolyzed free amino acid fraction. Seventeen amino acids were observed in the milk of both strains, but in strain DBA/2J several were present in two to five times the amount observed in the milk of strain C57BL/6J. Methionine and lysine occurred in substantial amounts in strain DBA/2J milk, but only in traces in the milk of strain C57BL/6J. Histidine was virtually lacking in the milk of DBA/2J, but present in that of strain C57BL/6J. The results of this study are requisite to the development of a diet suitable for artificial feeding of gnotobiotic mice.