Growth in Animals

Studies in the Agricultural and Food Sciences: Growth in Animals discusses the more advanced concepts of growth, its changes and effects on different animals and systems, and its implications for agriculture. Based on a symposium of the same name, the book defines growth and its effects on the whole body; the biochemical and genetic determinants that affect it; and the effect of thermal environment on growth and its relation with immunity. Growth of bones, muscle nucleic acid and protein, and adipose tissue are also explained. The text also encompasses the relation of growth and gut microflora; the effects of growth-promoting agents in ruminant animals and single-stomach animals; and growth and breeding performance in animals. The growth in mammals and birds for meat production and its effects on the meat quality of animals are also covered in this book. This monograph is recommended for those who would want to start or are currently running animal and poultry farms, as well as for scientists who wish to study the phenomenon of growth for the betterment of agriculture.

1 Definitions of Growth

2 The Biochemical and Genetical Determinants of Selection for Growth

3 The Hormonal Control of Growth at Puberty

4 Growth and the Thermal Environment

5 Interrelationships between Immunity and Growth

6 Bone Growth and Modeling

7 Growth Curves in Muscle Nucleic Acid and Protein: Problems of Interpretation at the Level of the Muscle Cell

8 Fundamental Aspects of Adipose Tissue Growth

9 The Gut Microflora and Growth

10 Mechanisms of Action of Growth-Promoting Agents in Ruminant Animals

11 Mechanisms of Growth Promoters in Single-Stomach Animals

12 Growth and Breeding Performance in Animals and Birds

13 Growth in Mammals for Meat Production

14 Growth in Birds for Meat Production

15 Growth in Fishes

16 Growth and Meat Quality in Animals

List of Participants

Index