Estimation of lysine and methionine requirements of growing steers fed corn silage-based or corn-based diets

Methionine and lysine requirements of growing steers were studied. Steers (Experiment 1, 313 kg) fed 6.4 kg of an 80% corn silage diet (1.38% N) had duodenal flows of methionine, cysteine, and lysine of 9.7, 10.7, and 40.2 g/d. Linear increases in plasma methionine and plasma lysine in response to abomasal infusions of DL-methionine and L-lysine indicated that requirements for methionine and lysine were met by basal flows or that neither lysine nor methionine was the first or sole limiting amino acid. Steers (Experiment 2, 383 kg) fed 7.5 kg of a 75% corn diet (1.55% N) had methionine, cysteine, and lysine flows at the duodenum of 13.8, 16.1, and 52.9 g/d. Abomasal infusions of DL-methionine resulted in linear increases in plasma methionine, but abomasal infusions of L-lysine resulted in two-phase broken line plasma amino acid response curves. For steers infused with lysine alone, the breakpoint occurred at 4 g/d infused lysine, whereas steers receiving 9 g/d DL-methionine had a breakpoint at 8 g/d infused lysine. The total absorbable lysine requirement was estimated to be 44 to 48 g/d, depending upon methionine status. Rumen-protected amino acids fed to steers on both dietary regimens were effective in supplying methionine and lysine postruminally.