The effect of choline and cystine on the utilisation of methionine for protein accretion, remethylation and trans-sulfuration in juvenile shrimp Penaeus monodon.

This 35-d feeding experiment examined in juvenile shrimp Penaeus monodon (3·3 g initial body weight) the effects of methionine (Met), choline and cystine on protein accretion and the activity of two key enzymes of remethylation (betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase; BHMT) and trans-sulfuration (cystathionine ß-synthase; CBS). The interaction between Met and choline was tested using semi-purified diets either adequate or limiting (30 or 50 %) in total sulphur amino acid (SAA) content with a constant cystine:Met ratio. The diets contained either basal or excess choline (3 v. 7 g/kg feed). Cystine was added to two other 30 and 50 % Met-limiting diets to adjust the SAA supply to that of the control diet in order to evaluate the interaction between Met and cystine. As expected, N accretion was significantly lower with the SAA-limiting diets but increased back to control levels by the extra choline or cystine, demonstrating their sparing effect on Met utilisation for protein accretion. We show, for the first time, the activities of BHMT and CBS in shrimp hepatopancreas. Only BHMT responded to the SAA deficiencies, whereas the extra choline and cystine did not stimulate remethylation or down-regulate trans-sulfuration. Our data also suggest the capacity of P. monodon to synthesise taurine, being significantly affected by the cystine level in the 30 % SAA-limiting diets. Further research is warranted to better understand the metabolic regulation of taurine synthesis in shrimp and of the observed Met-sparing effects.

Maintenance and growth requirements for nitrogen, lysine and methionine and their utilisation efficiencies in juvenile black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, using a factorial approach.

We used a factorial approach to distinguish maintenance from growth requirements for protein, lysine and methionine in the black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Juvenile P. monodon (initial weight 2.4 g) were fed during 6 weeks one of ten semi-purified diets based on casein and purified amino acids (AA) as N source. The diets contained four levels of crude protein (CP, from 5 to 54 % DM diet) with two levels (% CP) of lysine or methionine (normal or 30 % deficient). Requirements were determined using linear and non-linear regression models. We could thus obtain the first ever data on maintenance (N equilibrium) requirements for CP and AA in P. monodon. CP requirements for maintenance (4.5 g/kg body weight (BW) per d) represented approximately 19 % of the CP requirement for maximal N gain (23.9 g/kg BW per d). The marginal efficiency of utilisation reached a maximum of 38 % for N, 0.77 for lysine and 1.62 for methionine using N gain as response. Lysine requirements were 0.20 g/kg BW per d for N maintenance and 1.40 g/kg BW per d for maximal N gain. Methionine requirements were 0.11 g/kg BW per d for N maintenance and 0.70 g/kg BW per d for maximal N gain. The lysine (5.8 %) and methionine (2.9 %) requirements for maximal N gain, expressed as percentage of protein requirement, agree with literature data using a dose-response technique with smaller P. monodon. The observed interaction between dietary CP and methionine for N gain demonstrates that requirements for indispensable AA (expressed as % CP) cannot be evaluated separately from CP requirements.