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Muscular Dystrophy in Chicks Fed Crystalline Amino Acid Diets

Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois

Supplementing a crystalline amino acid diet, devoid of sulfur amino acids and lacking vitamin E, with 0.6% DL-methionine maximized chick gain. The incidence of muscular dystrophy was high at all levels of methionine between 0.2% and 0.6%, absent at 0.65% or more and virtually nil at levels less than 0.2%. Adding graded amounts of L-cystine to a dystrophy inducing diet (DD) containing 0.5% methionine, progressively reduced dystrophy lesions but the highest concentration used (0.1%) failed to afford complete protection. When the L-arginine·HCl content of DD was varied over the range 0.48% to 1.57%, growth was depressed and muscle striations were absent so long as L-arginine·HCl continued to be first limiting (0.7% or less). The incidence was high when arginine and methionine were either equally limiting or methionine was first limiting in terms of growth. Comparable results were observed when the lysine content of DD was altered in a similar manner. Imbalancing DD with graded amounts of lysine progressively depressed weight gain and decreased the frequency and severity of the lesions. The growth-promoting ability of the diet appears to be a factor in the etiology of the syndrome.