A molecular biological approach to reducing dietary amino acid needs.

Rapid developments in transgenic animal technology make it possible to consider introducing new metabolic capabilities into animals, using genes from other species. Lysine and threonine are both essential amino acids in mammals, and are commonly the first and second limiting amino acids, respectively, for protein accretion in pigs and poultry fed cereal based diets. Here we consider the potential for transgenic animals with microbial biosynthetic pathways for these amino acids.