Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Amino acids in sheep production
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Increasing production efficiency with a high standard of animal welfare and respect for the environment is a goal of sheep farming systems. Substantial gains in productivity have been achieved through improved genetics, nutrition and management changes; however the survival and growth performance of multiple-born lambs still remains a problem. This is a significant production efficiency and animal well-being issue. There is a growing body of evidence that some amino acids have a role in regulating growth, reproduction and immunity through modulation of metabolic and cell signaling pathways. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of what is currently known about the role of amino acids in sheep production and the potential for supplementation strategies to influence on-farm survival and growth of lambs.