The Limiting Sequence and Appropriate Amino Acid Ratio of Lysine, Methionine, and Threonine for Seven- to Nine-Month-Old Holstein Heifers Fed Corn–Soybean M-Based Diet

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Research on the amino acid nutrition of cattle is limited, particularly research on the amino acid patterns of growing heifer. This lack of research has made it difficult to minimize the costs and reduce nitrogen emission of dairy heifers. Lysine might be the first limiting amino acid for seven- to nine-month-old Holstein heifers that are fed a corn–soybean meal-based diet, followed by methionine and threonine. The appropriate ratio of lysine, methionine, and threonine—calculated based on the nitrogen retention of seven- to nine-month-old Holstein heifers—were 100:32:57. We expect to reduce the input of protein feed and nitrogen emissions for dairy farms by using this ratio. ABSTRACT: An “Amino acid (AA) partial deletion method” was used in this experiment to study the limiting sequences and appropriate ratio of lysine (Lys), methionine (Met), and threonine (Thr) in the diets of 7- to 9-month-old Holstein heifers. The experiment was conducted for three months with 72 Holstein heifers (age = 22 ± 0.5 weeks old; BW = 200 ± 9.0 kg; mean ± standard deviation). Following an initial two weeks adaptation period, heifers were allocated to one of four treatments: a theoretically balanced amino acid diet (positive control [PC]; 1.00% Lys, 0.33% Met, and 0.72% Thr), a 30% Lys deleted diet (partially deleted Lys [PD–Lys]; 0.66% Lys, 0.33% Met, and 0.72% Thr), a 30% Met deleted diet (partially deleted Met, [PD–Met]; 1.00% Lys, 0.22% Met, and 0.72% Thr), and a 30% Thr deleted diet (partially deleted Thr [PD–Thr]; 1.00% Lys, 0.33% Met, and 0.45% Thr). Experimental animals were fed a corn–soybean meal-based concentrate and alfalfa hay. In addition, the animals were provided with supplemental Lys, Met, and Thr (ruminal bypass). The results found no differences in the growth performance and nitrogen retention between PD–Thr treatment and PC treatment (p > 0.05). The average daily gain (p = 0.0013) and feed conversion efficiency (p = 0.0057) of eight- to ninr-month-old heifers were lower in both PD–Lys and PD–Met treatment than those in PC treatment. According to growth performance, Lys was the first limiting AA, followed by Met and Thr. Moreover, nine-month-old Holstein heifers in PD–Lys treatment and PD–Met treatment had higher levels of serum urea nitrogen (p = 0.0021), urea nitrogen (p = 0.0011) and total excreted N (p = 0.0324) than those in PC treatment, which showed that nitrogen retention significantly decreased (p = 0.0048) as dietary Lys and Met levels decreased. The limiting sequence based on nitrogen retention was the same as that based on growth performance. The appropriate ratio of Lys, Met, and Thr in the diet based on nitrogen retention was 100:32:57. In summary, the limiting sequence and appropriate amino acid ratio of Lys, Met, and Thr for seven- to nine-month-old Holstein heifers fed a corn–soybean meal-based diet were Lys > Met > Thr and 100:32:57, respectively.