• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.167-172
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• 2012

The key regulators of apoptosis are the interacting protein of the Bcl-2 family. Bcl-2, an important member of this family, blocks cytochrome C release by sequestering pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins such as Bid, Bad, Bax and Bim. The pro-survival family members (Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Bcl-W) are critical for cell survival, since loss of any of them causes cell death in certain cell type. However, its role during early porcine embryonic development is not sufficient. In this study, we traced the effects of Bcl-2 inhibitor, ABT-737, on early porcine embryonic development. We also investigated several indicators of developmental potential, including gene expression (apoptosis-related genes) and apoptosis, which are affected by ABT-737. Porcine embryos were cultured in the PZM-3 medium with or without ABT-737 for 6 days. In result, significant differences in developmental potential were detected between the embryos that were cultured with or without ABT-737 ($14.7{\pm}3.0$ vs $30.3{\pm}4.8%$, p<0.05). TUNEL assay showed that the number of containing fragmented DNA at the blastocyst stage increased in the ABT-737 treated group compared with control (4.7 vs 3.7, p<0.05). The mRNA expression of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax increased in ABT-737 treated group (p<0.05), whereas expressions of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members (Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Bcl-W) decreased (p<0.05). Also, expressions of the ER stress indicator genes (GRP78, XBP-1 and sXBP-1) increased in ABT-737 treated group (p<0.05). In conclusion, Bcl-2 is closely associated with of apoptosis- and ER stress-related genes expressions and developmental potential in pig embryos.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.213-217
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• 2012

The decreased fertility is frequently thought to be problem of cattle production. However, studies figure out that number of these problems is related to bull factors especially in artificial insemination setting. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the fertility status of bull by their estimated relative conception rate of cows that were inseminated by frozen semen from Korean proven bulls. Here we use the non-return rate (NRR) to access the bull fertility whereas, the NRR was define as the proportion of bulls that semen were used to inseminate cows and the number of cows that did not return for another service within 60 days. The data from 54,388 artificial inseminations (AI) were analyzed from 88 KPN semen. The NRRs of highest and lowest fertile bull were 83.81 and 51.33%, respectively. And mean NRR was 68.27%. In comparison to previously reported study, our data shows 17.38% higher NRR and the absolute value of difference in 50%>NRR and 50%

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.350-356
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• 2017

This study was conducted to examine the influence of the maternal genetic effect of swine on their economic traits through the estimation of their genetic parameters, breeding value and genetic trends using an animal model. The data on Duroc pigs, Korean Native Pigs and Synthetic pigs (Duroc ${\times}$ Korean Native Pig) from 2000 to 2015 were obtained from the National Institute of Animal Science in Korea and used to estimate the genetic parameters for the average daily gain (ADG) and backfat thickness (BFT). Model 1 included the additive genetic effect of the animals, Model 2 consisted of Model 1 + the maternal genetic effect and Model 3 consisted of Model 2 + the maternal permanent environment effect. The heritability calculated by estimating the additive genetic effect was higher than that calculated by estimating the maternal genetic effect using the maternal animal model. The estimated genetic correlations between the additive and maternal genetic effects for the ADG and BF were strongly negative. Thus, the estimation of the breeding value can be used to select the most appropriate individuals and make an optimal breeding scheme.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2012

We investigated the reproductive capacity of starry flounder Platichthys stellatus from the Uljin (UJ) marine ranching area and compared it to that of P. stellatus from the coastal waters of Pohang (PH). In UJ, female gonadosomatic index (GSI) peaked in October ($3.14{\pm}0.87$) and male GSI was high in October and December. In PH, female GSI peaked in January ($18.64{\pm}2.15$) while male GSI began to increase in October and remained high until March. Most ovaries of UJ females were immature with perinucleus oocytes, although the testes of UJ males were ripe in January. Both the ovaries and testes of PH starry flounders were ripe from January to March. The plasma estradiol-$17{\beta}$ ($E_2$) levels of UJ females were highest in October ($4.09{\pm}1.90$ ng/mL) although the testosterone (T) levels of UJ males were highest in December ($3.81{\pm}0.78$ ng/mL) and decreased gradually until April. The $17{\alpha}$,$20{\beta}$-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one ($17{\alpha}20{\beta}P$) levels of UJ females were not detected. The E2 levels of PH females were highest in December ($36.25{\pm}33.07$ ng/mL) and $17{\alpha}20{\beta}P$ levels were highest in March ($5.51{\pm}0.95$5 ng/mL). The T levels of PH males were highest in December ($4.03{\pm}1.34$ ng/mL) and decreased gradually until October. Taken together, these results suggest that most females from UJ did not reach maturation with a spawning period that was considered to be between December and January.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2017

BVDV causes significant infections in ruminants, resulting in reproductive disorders, diarrhea, reduced milk production and enormous damage to farms. In particular, identification and culling of persistent infectious calf is an important task to eliminate infectious nidus in cattle households. However, studies on physiological characteristics of PI bull are still insufficient to understand reproductive effects of BVDV. In this study, one PI bull was confirmed in herd and complete blood analysis was performed. The lymphocyte count of PI at age 4 was below the normal range and the number of WBCs was also in the lower level of normal range in blood. The sperm number produced by PI male becomes lower and the viability of fresh sperm comes to poor with ages (P<0.05). The sperm abnormality was also increased, especially in nuclear vacuoles of head and droplets of midpeace (P<0.05). The PI male becomes infertile due to poor semen quality at age 4. With these results, we concluded that BVDV in PI bull cause decreased sperm cell and abnormality in semen so causes infertility. However, it appears that BVDV could not be transmitted by indirect contact of PI bull, because there was no evidence of BVDV infection in the herd, when regular vaccination program was applied.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2006

Artificial activation of oocytes is a prerequisite for the successful cloning by nuclear transfer. This study investigated the effect of the different combination of activation agents such as electric pulse (E), thimerosal (Thi) + dithiothreitol (DTT), 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) or cycloheximide (CH) on the developmental ability of porcine embryos derived from parthenogenetic activation (PA). PA embryos activated with chemicals showed significantly higher developmental rate to the blastocyst stage compared to the embryos activated with E alone ($21.5{\sim}28.1%$ vs. 18.0%, respectively). Of chemicals, Thi + DTT supported higher development to the blastoryst stage (28.1%). There was no significant difference in 1 pronucleus (PN) formation rate $(59.9{\sim}64.7%)$, but 2PN formation rate was significantly higher in PA embryos with additional activation using chemicals $(7.2{\sim}9.7%)$. In conclusion, this study shows that chemical activation after electric pulse can increase the development of porcine PA embryos.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2006

This study was performed to investigate the effects of embryo developmental stage and superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the survival of frozen-thawed porcine embryos by open pulled straw(OPS) method. Porcine IVF blastocysts were frozen-thawed by OPS method and cultured for 48 h under the existence of SOD. There are no significant differences in the proportions of normal morphology among the early, mid- and expanded blastoryst stages $(30.8{\sim}38.6%)$. After culture of embryos, the developmental rates to the expanded blastocyst stage(38.7%) were significantly higher than those of other stages (P<0.05). The proportions of expanded and hatched embryos were higher in medium with 1 unit/ml SOD than 0 and 10 units/ml of SOD. The result indicates that OPS method can use for the pig embryo cryopreservation, especially for the late stage blastocysts. SOD may can reduce the demage of frozen-thawed porcine embryos.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mechanical enucleation methods, aspiration and squeezing, on the developmental ability of nuclear transfer bovine embryos. Enucleated oocytes made by both enucleation methods were fused to adult ear skin cells. After 7 days of culture, developmental ability up to blastocyst stage was similar in both squeezing($33.6{\pm}15.7%$) and aspiration enucleation methods($31.9{\pm}13.4%$). The proportion of blastocysts at Day 8 of culture was also similar between the aspiration($37.8{\pm}10.4%$) and squeezing enucleatign s($35.3{\pm}15.1%$). The mean cell number in Day 7 blastocysts was also similar between the both groups(aspiration: $110.3{\pm}39.2$ vs. squeezing: $103.7{\pm}42.8$). The ratio of apoptotic cells was also found to be not significant different between the both groups(aspiration: $2.8{\pm}2.6%$ vs. squeezing: $4.3{\pm}4.4%$). These results suggest that aspiration and squeezing methods, as mechanical enucleation technique, are both useful for the production of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.446-451
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• 2019

This study investigated the application of artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis kit for Korean native black goats. Semen was collected by electrical ejaculation, followed by semen analysis and artificial insemination in three goat strains (Dangjin, Jangsu and Tongyoung). Pregnancy was confirmed using a cow pregnancy test kit (IDEXX Rapid Visual Pregnancy Test kit) and ultrasound diagnosis. Analysis revealed that semen collected from male Korean native black goats by electrical ejaculation was about 1~1.5 ml in volume, $18{\sim}25{\times}10^8/ml$ concentration, and having > 97% motility. Furthermore, confirmation of pregnancy by pregnancy test kit and ultrasound diagnosis after artificial insemination were similar. In addition, the efficiency of pregnancy was 20~40% for all three strains: Tongyoung was the highest with 44%, followed by Dangjin (%), and Jangsu (20%). This study determines the artificial fertilization efficiency and the feasibility of using a cow pregnancy test kit for early pregnancy diagnosis in Korean native black goats. Although further research is required for validation, the results of the current study contribute to the breeding and improvement of Korean native black goat in research institutions as well as in general farms.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.563-575
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• 2022

Maruca vitrata is one of important pests in leguminous crops, especially red bean. We investigated the effects of temperature on development of each life stage, adult longevity and fecundity of M. vitrata for understanding the biological characteristics of the insect species at eight constant temperatures of 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and 34℃. Eggs hatched successfully at all temperature subjected and larvae successfully developed to the adult stage from 16℃ to 31℃. The developmental period of egg decreased up to 31℃ and after then increased. The developmental period of larva and pupa, and adult longevity of M. vitrata decreased with increasing temperature. Lower and higher threshold temperature (TL and TH) were calculated by the Lobry-Rosso-Flandrois (LRF) and Sharpe-Schoolfield-Ikemoto (SSI) models. The lower developmental threshold (LDT) and thermal constant (K) from egg hatching to adult emergence of M. vitrata were estimated by linear regression as 12.8℃ and 280.8DD, respectively. TL and TH from egg hatching to adult emergence using SSI model were 14.2℃ and 31.9℃. Thermal windows, i.e., the range in temperature between the minimum and maximum rate of development, of M. vitrata was 17.7℃. In addition, we constructed the oviposition models of adult, using the investigated adult traits including survival, longevity, oviposition period and fecundity. Temperature-dependent development models and adult oviposition models will be helpful to understand the population dynamics of M vitrata and to establish the strategy of integrated pest management in legume crops.