Protein Turnover in Long-Term Growth Studies

5 Protein Turnover in Long-Term Growth Studies 

When the protein in the rations provided to each cod is compared with protein growth, synthesis and degradation a remarkable relationship between protein ingestion and protein synthesis appears (Fig. 10) for every gram of protein eaten, 1 g of protein was synthesised (Houlihan et al. 1989). Mytilus does not demonstrate this ratio between protein absorption and protein synthesis (Hawkins 1985) and it remains to be seen if the pattern will be repeated for other animals. However, the cod results raise the possibility that, as for rats, dietary protein, rather than energy, is the primary stimulus for muscle growth (Millward 1989). 

What are we to make of these differences in mechanisms for bringing about increased growth rates, i.e. increased protein synthesis and degradation in all cases except for the decreased degradation rates in the two molluscan species so far 

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