Increased efficiency of wool growth and live weight gain in Merino sheep fed transgenic lupin seed containing sunflower albumin

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2001-01, Vol.81 (1), p.147-154
• Main Authors: White, Colin L, Tabe, Linda M, Dove, Hugh, Hamblin, John, Young, Paul, Phillips, Nathan, Taylor, Romney, Gulati, Suresh, Ashes, John, Higgins, T J V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: amino acids; Animal productions; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic engineering; Genetic technics; in sacco degradability; methionine; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; plasma; purine derivatives; Terrestrial animal productions; Transgenic animals and transgenic plants; Transgenic plants; Vertebrates; wool
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0010(20010101)81:1<147::AID-JSFA751>3.0.CO;2-E

The aim of this experiment was to assess, using sheep, the nutritive value of lupin seed transgenically modified to contain sunflower seed albumin. Eighty Merino wether sheep of mean live weight 32.3 kg were divided into two groups and fed 796 g dry matter (DM) day−1 of a cereal hay‐based diet containing 350 g kg−1 of either the transgenic or parent (unmodified) lupin seed for 6 weeks. Measurements were made of wool growth and live weight gain. After 6 weeks, half the sheep in each group were selected for a urine and faeces balance study in which organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N) and urinary purine metabolites were measured. Blood samples were taken from all sheep at the beginning and end of treatment and analysed for amino acids and plasma metabolites. A comprehensive chemical analysis of the grains showed that there was little difference between them in terms of most nutritional components, but the transgenic lupin seed contained a 2.3‐fold higher methionine concentration and 1.3‐fold higher cysteine than did the parent. There were no significant differences between grains in OM digestibility, rumen microbial protein synthesis or in sacco degradability of dry matter. Sheep fed the transgenic lupin grain had an 8% higher rate of wool growth (P