Kidney Arginase Activity and Lysine Tolerance in Strains of Chickens Selected for a High or Low Requirement of Arginine

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Abstract
Kidney arginase activity was investigated in 2 strains of White Leghorn chickens differing in dietary requirement of arginine. Arginase activity in kidneys of chicks from the high-requirement (HA) strain rose to a level 3 to 4 times that of chicks from the low-requirement (LA) strain following several days of feeding an arginine-deficient diet containing casein. Excretion of activity following a dose of guanido-labeled 14C-arginine increased in excreta in conjunction with the elevated kidney arginase activity of the high-requirement strain. Dietary excesses of lysine, histidine, phenylalanine, ornithine and arginine caused a marked increase in kidney arginase activity of both strains, but the high requirement strain appeared to be particularly sensitive to excess lysine. Growth was depressed in chicks of the HA strain at lower dietary levels of lysine than were growth-depressing for the LA strain. Increasing the lysine content of the diet increased the arginine requirement of the HA strain considerably more than for the LA strain. The data suggest that the 2 strains studied differ in their ability to metabolize excess dietary lysine.