• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2016

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) is a particular region of the genome containing one or more genes associated with economically important quantitative traits. This study was conducted to identify QTL regions for body weight and growth traits in purebred Korean native chicken (KNC). F1 samples (n = 595) were genotyped using 127 microsatellite markers and 8 single nucleotide polymorphisms that covered 2,616.1 centi Morgan (cM) of map length for 26 autosomal linkage groups. Body weight traits were measured every 2 weeks from hatch to 20 weeks of age. Weight of half carcass was also collected together with growth rate. A multipoint variance component linkage approach was used to identify QTLs for the body weight traits. Two significant QTLs for growth were identified on chicken chromosome 3 (GGA3) for growth 16 to18 weeks (logarithm of the odds [LOD] = 3.24, Nominal p value = 0.0001) and GGA4 for growth 6 to 8 weeks (LOD = 2.88, Nominal p value = 0.0003). Additionally, one significant QTL and three suggestive QTLs were detected for body weight traits in KNC; significant QTL for body weight at 4 weeks (LOD = 2.52, nominal p value = 0.0007) and suggestive QTL for 8 weeks (LOD = 1.96, Nominal p value = 0.0027) were detected on GGA4; QTLs were also detected for two different body weight traits: body weight at 16 weeks on GGA3 and body weight at 18 weeks on GGA19. Additionally, two suggestive QTLs for carcass weight were detected at 0 and 70 cM on GGA19. In conclusion, the current study identified several significant and suggestive QTLs that affect growth related traits in a unique resource pedigree in purebred KNC. This information will contribute to improving the body weight traits in native chicken breeds, especially for the Asian native chicken breeds.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.433-441
• /
• 2016

Clubroot caused by the protist Plasmodiophora brassicae is one of the most destructive diseases of Brassica crops. Developing Chinese cabbage cultivars with durable clubroot resistance (CR) is an important goal of breeding programs, which will require new genetic resources to be identified and introduced. In this study, we evaluated resistance to P. brassicae race 4 using 26 Chinese cabbage (B. rapa ssp. pekinensis ) cultivars compared to the clubroot-susceptible Chinese cabbage inbred line 'BP079' and the clubroot-resistant European turnip (B. rapa ssp. rapifera ) inbred line 'IT033820'. No symptoms of clubroot disease were found in 'IT033820' infected with P. brassicae race 4, whereas the Chinese cabbage cultivars exhibited disease symptoms to various degrees. The Chinese cabbage cultivars that were reported to be clubroot-susceptible were susceptible to P. brassicae race 4; however, seven of the 20 cultivars reported to be clubroot-resistant were susceptible to this race of P. brassicae to varying degrees. Resting spores of P. brassicae were abundant within the infected root tissues of 'BP079', as revealed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), but they were not detected in root tissues of 'IT033820'. Although resting spores were not detected by light microscopy in root tissues of the clubroot-resistant Chinese cabbage cultivar 'Kigokoro 75', a few spores were observed by SEM. The $F_1$ hybrids from a cross between 'IT033820' and 'BP079' showed no disease symptoms, and all $BC_1P_1$ progenies from a cross between the $F_1$ hybrid and 'IT033820' exhibited a resistance phenotype. In the $BC_1P_2$ population from a cross between the $F_1$ hybrid and 'BP079', this trait segregated at a ratio of 3(R):1(S) (${\chi}^2=1.333$, p = 0.248) at a 5% significance level. Inoculated $BC_1P_2$ plants were either highly resistant or highly susceptible to the pathogen, indicating that the CR to race 4 of P. brassicae carried by 'IT033820' is dominant. In the $F_2$ population, this trait segregated at a ratio of 15(R):1(S) (${\chi}^2=0.152$, p = 0.696) at a 5% significance level, suggesting that CR in 'IT033820' is mainly controlled by two dominant genes. Therefore, 'IT033820' represents a promising genetic resource for developing durable CR breeding lines in Chinese cabbage.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.50
• /
• pp.142-154
• /
• 2023

Plant abscission is a natural process in which plant organs or tissues undergo detachment, a strategy selected by nature for the disposal of nonessential organs and widespread dissemination of seeds and fruits. However, from an agricultural perspective, the abscission of seeds or fruits represents a major factor that reduces crop productivity and product quality. Therefore, during the crop domestication process in traditional agriculture, mutants exhibiting suppressed abscission were selected and crossbred, thereby enabling the production of modern crop varieties such as rice, tomatoes, canola, and soybeans. These crops possess a unique trait of retaining ripe fruits or seeds in contrast to disposal via abscission. During the previous century, research on quantitative trait loci along with genetic and molecular biological studies on Arabidopsis thaliana have elucidated various cell biological mechanisms, signaling pathways, and transcription regulators involved in abscission. Additionally, it has been revealed that various hormone signals, which are involved in plant growth, play crucial roles in modulating abscission activity. Researchers have developed several chemical treatments that target these hormones and signal transduction pathways to enhance crop yields. This review aimed to introduce the previously identified signal transduction pathways and pivotal regulators implicated in abscission activity. Moreover, this review will discuss the future direction of research required to investigate crop abscission mechanisms for their potential application in smart farming and other areas of agriculture, as well as areas within model systems that require extensive research.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.58 no.4
• /
• pp.325-332
• /
• 2015

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is now the second largest oilseed crop after soybean. Cold temperature tolerance is an important agronomic trait in winter rapeseed that determines the plant's ability to control below freezing temperatures. To improve cold tolerance of rapeseed plants, an expression vector containing an Barley Ice recrystallization inhibition protein (HvIRIP) cDNA driven by a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter was transferred into rapeseed plants. Transgenic expression of HvIRIP was proved by southern- and northern-blot analyses. The level of freezing tolerance of transgenic $T_3$ plants was found to be significantly greater than that of wild-type rapeseed plants by freezing assay. Proline accumulation during cold stress was also highly induced in the transgenic rapeseed plants. The transgenic plants exhibited considerable tolerance against oxidative damage induced by cold stress. Our results indicated that heterologous HvIRIP expression in transgenic rapeseed plants may induce several oxidative-stress responsive genes to protect from cold stress.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.598-602
• /
• 2004

The Tongcheng pig breed is a famous Chinese indigenous breed. The Ministry of Agriculture of China has filed it as 1 of 19 national key conservation breeds selected from more than 100 Chinese indigenous pig breeds in 2000. In order to improve the reproductive performance, it has been intensively selected to increase the litter size for about 10 years. The population randomly sampled from conservation nucleus of eight families in the Tongcheng pigs was genotyped for identification of their estrogen receptor locus polymorphisms with the PCR-RFLPs method. Only AB heterozygotes and BB homozygotes were detected, and $X^2$ test demonstrated that the locus was in disequilibrium at a significant level (p<0.05). In the present paper, the litter sizes in different parities were regarded as different traits. Holistic status of other unspecific and unidentified genes was estimated by using the statistical methods. Coefficients of kurtosis and skewness showed that the litter size still presented segregating characteristic in the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th parities. Analysis of homogeneity of variance between families confirmed the results for the 5th, 7th and 8th parities. The heritability of litter size for the 1st to 10th parities was estimated with paternal half-sib model and individual estimated breeding values (EBVs) were evaluated by a single trait animal model as well. We found that the averages of EBVs for litter size in each parity did not differ significantly between genotypes, despite the significant difference for original phenotype records in the 3rd, 4th and 5th parities (p<0.05 or p<0.01). The results may be explained by the deduction that the polymorphisms of ESR locus are no longer the important genetic base of litter size variation when the frequency of allele B accumulated in the experience of selection procedure, and further conferring that there exist special genes associated with litter size in the recent Tongcheng pigs population can be made.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.272-280
• /
• 2016

Chrysanthemum is one of the top floriculture species with ornamental and medicinal value. Although chrysanthemum breeding program has contributed to the development of various cultivars so far, it needs to be advanced from the traditional phenotype-based selection to marker-assisted selection (molecular breeding) as shown in major cereal and vegetable crops. Molecular breeding relies on trait-linked molecular markers identified from genetic, molecular, and genomic studies. However, these studies in chrysanthemum are significantly hampered by the reproductive, genetic, and genomic properties of chrysanthemum such as self-incompatibility, inbreeding depression, allohexaploid, heterozygosity, and gigantic genome size. Nevertheless, several genetic studies have constructed genetic linkage maps and identified molecular markers linked to important traits of flower, leaf, and plant architecture. With progress in sequencing technology, chrysanthemum transcriptome has been sequenced to construct reference gene set and identify genes responsible for developments or induced by biotic or abiotic stresses. Recently, a genome sequencing project has been launched on a diploid wild Chrysanthemum species. The massive sequencing information would serve as fundamental resources for molecular breeding of chrysanthemum. In this review, we summarized the current status of molecular genetics and genomics in chrysanthemum and briefly discussed future prospects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.12
• /
• pp.1809-1815
• /
• 2019

Objective: Copy number variations (CNVs) are a major source of genetic diversity complementary to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in animals. The aim of the study was to perform a comprehensive genomic analysis of CNVs based on high density whole-genome SNP markers in Chinese Dongxiang spotted pigs. Methods: We used customized Affymetrix Axiom Pig1.4M array plates containing 1.4 million SNPs and the PennCNV algorithm to identify porcine CNVs on autosomes in Chinese Dongxiang spotted pigs. Then, the next generation sequence data was used to confirm the detected CNVs. Next, functional analysis was performed for gene contents in copy number variation regions (CNVRs). In addition, we compared the identified CNVRs with those reported ones and quantitative trait loci (QTL) in the pig QTL database. Results: We identified 871 putative CNVs belonging to 2,221 CNVRs on 17 autosomes. We further discarded CNVRs that were detected only in one individual, leaving us 166 CNVRs in total. The 166 CNVRs ranged from 2.89 kb to 617.53 kb with a mean value of 93.65 kb and a genome coverage of 15.55 Mb, corresponding to 0.58% of the pig genome. A total of 119 (71.69%) of the identified CNVRs were confirmed by next generation sequence data. Moreover, functional annotation showed that these CNVRs are involved in a variety of molecular functions. More than half (56.63%) of the CNVRs (n = 94) have been reported in previous studies, while 72 CNVRs are reported for the first time. In addition, 162 (97.59%) CNVRs were found to overlap with 2,765 previously reported QTLs affecting 378 phenotypic traits. Conclusion: The findings improve the catalog of pig CNVs and provide insights and novel molecular markers for further genetic analyses of Chinese indigenous pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.126-136
• /
• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to compare fat content, reducing sugar contents, sensory traits, and fatty acid (FA) and volatile compound profiles in longissimus thoracis (LT) among Korean cattle (KC), Holstein (HO), and Angus (AN) steers. Methods: Twelve LT samples (about 500 g each) of KC with an average age of $31{\pm}0.42months$, an average carcass weight of $431{\pm}12.5kg$, and a quality grade (QG) of 1+ were obtained from the joint livestock products market. Twelve LT samples of HO cattle with an average age of $24{\pm}0.54months$, an average carcass weight of $402{\pm}7.81kg$, and a QG of 2 were also obtained from the same market. Twelve LT samples of AN steers with an average age of about 20 months and a QG of choice were purchased from a beef delivery company. After slaughter, samples were kept at $4^{\circ}C$ for 42 days and prepared for immediate analysis or stored at appropriate conditions. The chemical composition, color, pH, shear force, collagen content, reducing sugars, sensory evaluation, FA composition, and volatile compound content for each LT sample were analyzed. Results: The LT of KC had the highest (p<0.05) fat content, the highest reducing sugar content, and the highest scores in the sensory evaluation (flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptance). All the sensory traits were positively correlated (p<0.001) with intramuscular fat and reducing sugar content. Several FAs and volatile compound profiles varied among the breeds. KC LT had the highest (p<0.05) concentrations of acetaldehyde, 3-methyl butanal, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, and these volatile compounds were positively correlated (p<0.05) with all the sensory traits. Conclusion: Variations in fat content and reducing sugar contents and FA and volatile compound profiles may contribute to differences in the sensory quality of LT among breeds.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.58 no.2
• /
• pp.91-106
• /
• 2013

Exserohilum turcicum is considered serious destructive disease of maize (Zea mays L.) in North Korea. This study aimed to understand genetic inheritance and combining ability of newly bred lines of maize tolerant to E. turcicum by diallel crosses. Three diallel sets for two different ecological regions and one agronomic trait; eastern (E), northern (N) and stay green (SG) involving 29 inbred lines were tested in eight locations of 2000 and 2001. E. turcicum infections were under natural conditions, respectively. Lines used were selected for high yield potential in test crosses with good agronomic traits and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Selection for race specific high resistance to biotic stresses was avoided to select quantitatively inherited genes. Host plant responses to E. turcicum were rated on a scale of 1 (highly tolerant) to 9 (highly susceptible). Highly significant variations were recorded in all trials. General combining ability (GCA) mean square was roughly twice that of specific combining ability (SCA). The genotype (G) by environment (E) interaction was highly significant. The overall results of genetic studies in three diallel sets show that genetic control for inbred tolerance to E. turcicum is polygenic and quantitatively inherited. New inbreds; E-3, N-1 and SG-4 confer better tolerance to E. turcicum than the widely used inbreds; Mo17, and B73. Proper use of genetic information from this study shall increase of corn production under high E. turcicum infection in the Far Eastern Regions of Korea and China.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2018

Glucosinolates are one of the important plant secondary metabolites that are produced mainly in Brassicaceae plants. The compounds are primarily involved in defense responses to biotic and abiotic resistance in plants and play important biological roles during plant growth and development. In this study, the glucosinolate profiles in leaves of two different Brassica oleracea populations were compared using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The nine major glucosinolates compounds in cabbage leaves were identified as belonging to the aliphatic and indolic groups. Among them, sinigrin, which belongs to the aliphatic group, was recorded to be 41% whereas glucobrassicin and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, which belong to the indolic group, were recorded to be 53.8%. In addition, we performed a genetic analysis to identify regions of the genome regulating glucosinolates biosynthesis in the $F_3$ population of Brassica oleracea. A total of 9 glucosinolates were used for the quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Out of 9, a total of 3 QTLs were identified and they were associated with sinigrin, glucobrassicin, and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin synthesis located in Chromosome 1 and Chromosome 8, respectively. The results of this study will provide valuable information for the breeding of cabbage containing high glucosinolate content, and our next target is to develop component-specific and tightly linked markers for various glucosinolates.