Evidence of a different dose response in turkeys when fed 2-hydroxy-4(methylthio) butanoic acid versus DL-methionine.

In broilers, 2-hydroxy-4(methylthio) butanoic acid (HMTBA) can elicit a different dose response relative to dl-Met (DLM) such that birds could have lower gain responses at deficient TSAA concentrations but greater gain responses at maximum response concentrations. Two experiments tested if the 2 Met sources have a different dose response in 1-d-old turkeys using a 2 x 4 factorial plus a control design with 8 replicates of 12 toms per treatment. 2-Hydroxy-4(methylthio) butanoic acid and DLM were supplemented at equimolar concentrations of 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20% or 0.04, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32% for experiments 1 and 2, respectively, in commercial-type TSAA-deficient (0.99 to 1.02%) diets for 21 d. No differences in any performance parameter tested were found between HMTBA and DLM in either trial by ANOVA. Linear (LIN), quadratic (QUAD), and exponential regressions were fitted to the gain response of birds fed HMTBA or DLM. Equations with better goodness of fit as determined by Schwarz's Bayesian information criteria index were used for further calculations of predicted differences between HMTBA and DLM. In both trials, the shape of the dose response differed according to the Met source used, and best-fit equations were obtained when using Met intake over control rather than dietary Met concentration as the dependent variable. In experiment 1, the best-fit equations were an inverse QUAD for HMTBA and a LIN for DLM, and in experiment 2 with higher Met concentrations, the best-fit equations were a QUAD for DLM and a LIN for HMTBA. Feeding HMTBA at deficient TSAA resulted in lower (P <0.05) gains in experiment 1 but greater gains at maximum response concentrations (P <0.05) in both experiments. Plasma-free Met increased at 3 times the rate for DLM than HMTBA (P <0.01) with increasing Met concentration, which may play a role in the evolution of different dose responses at the extremes of the Met dose response. These results demonstrate that Met sources elicit a differential dose response in turkeys such that feeding HMTBA at deficient TSAA concentrations can be lower than DLM and can reach a higher maximum performance than with DLM.