Mammary Gland Metabolism of Amino Acids in the Lactating Sow: An In Vitro Study

Economic demands on the pork producer will require that continued advances be made in optimizing farrowing rates, maximizing newborn pig survival, and increasing efficiency of preweaning pig growth and development. Success will be determined by the ability of the sow to produce sufficient milk to meet the needs of the rapidly growing litter. Genetic advances resulting in gains in litter size and milk production in sows have not always occurred with parallel advances in understanding the changing nutrient requirements by the pig. Amino acid requirements for milk production have come under particular scrutiny recently (Knabe et al. 1996; Richert et al. 1996). However, this process is being undertaken in a relative void of knowledge about how the sow mammary gland functions. To gain full value from efforts to revise amino acid requirement recommendations we must ultimately depend on an understanding of how the amino acids are utilized by the sow=s mammary tissue.