• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.369-375
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• 1991

A series of in vitro incubation studies with washed rumen bacteria were conducted to determine the influence of incubation time and concentrations of peptides, alanine, ammonia nitrogen and carbohydrate on the rate of peptide disappearance and on bacterial growth. Disappearance rate of tri-alanine (ala3) under various conditions was between 30.6 and $58.2mg\;hr^-$ per gram bacterial dry matter. Ala3 was removed from the incubation medium in an almost linear fashion as incubation time and ala3 concentration was increased. Washed rumen bacteria utilized ala3 faster than di-l-alanine (ala2) at all concentrations. Adding 9mM carbohydrate significantly increased ala3 disappearance, but level of ammonia nitrogen had no influence on ala3 disappearance. The presence of alanine in the medium significantly lowered ala3 utilization by rumen bacteria. Bacterial dry matter and nitrogen growth yield were not influenced by alanine and peptides when incubation medium already contained a sufficient level of ammonia nitrogen. Increased ammonia nitrogen in the presence of ala3 did not stimulate bacterial growth. Carbohydrate significantly increased bacterial dry matter and nitrogen growth as expected. Results indicate that the rate of peptide utilization by rumen bacteria may be altered by type and concentration of peptides, and energy supply, and this may be mediated through changes in numbers and type of bacteria.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.873-880
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• 2018

Objective: The objective of this experiment was to compare the effects of adding 130 mg/kg Cu from either copper sulfate (CS) or tribasic copper chloride (TBCC) on growth performance, mineral deposition in tissues, and the excretion in feces of pigs as well as changes in the mineral contents in tissues and feces when the supplemental Cu level was decreased from 130 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. Methods: A total of 72 pigs ($32.6{\pm}1.2kg$) were randomly assigned to a CS diet or a TBCC diet with 6 pens per treatment. The trial lasted 102 d and included 3 phases (phase 1, 1 to 30 d; phase 2, 31 to 81 d; and phase 3, 82 to 102 d). The supplemental levels of Cu in the 2 treatments were 130 mg/kg in phase 1 and 2 and 10 mg/kg in phase 3. Results: The results showed that pigs fed the CS diet tended to have higher average daily gain than pigs fed the TBCC diet during d 1 to 81 (p<0.10). Compared with CS, TBCC increased the activities of aspartate transaminase (AST), ceruloplasmin, and superoxide dismutase in serum on d 30 (p<0.05). The TBCC decreased the Cu level in the liver on d 81 (p<0.05) and increased the Mn level in the liver on d 102 (p<0.05). The concentration of Cu in feces sharply decreased when the supplemental Cu level in diet changed from 130 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg in both diets (p<0.05). Conclusion: The result suggested that TBCC and CS had no significant difference on growth performance but TBCC had higher activities of AST and antioxidant enzymes and lower liver Cu than CS when pigs fed diets with 130 mg Cu /kg diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1085-1089
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• 2006

The objectives of this study were to confirm a location of the calpastatin (CAST) gene in chromosome 2 and to detect associations of genetic variations with economic traits in the porcine CAST gene as a candidate gene for growth and meat quality traits in pigs. Calpastatin is a specific endogenous inhibitor of calpains. The calpain protease system is ubiquitous, and is involved in numerous growth and metabolic processes. Three single nucleotide variations were identified within a 1.6 kb fragment of the porcine CAST gene and these polymorphisms were used for genetic linkage mapping. Linkage and QTL mapping were performed with the National Livestock Research Institute (NLRI) reference families using eight microsatellites and SNP makers in the CAST gene. The porcine CAST gene was mapped adjacent to the markers, SW395 and SW1695 on SSC2 with LOD scores of 15.32 and 8.50, respectively. According to the QTL mapping, a significant association was detected at 82 cM between SW395 and CAST-Hinf I for weight at the age of 30 weeks. In addition, an association study was performed with the $F_2$ animals of NLRI reference families for Hinf I, Msp I and Rsa I polymorphisms in the CAST gene. Two polymorphisms, CAST-Rsa I and CAST-Hinf I, showed significant correlation for growth traits at p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.178-184
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• 1997

Purified diets containing five graded levels of lysine were fed to a total of 125 growing chicks (25 chicks per treatment) to evaluate lysine requirements for growth and maintenance. A model was developed to separate lysine requirement for maintenance from requirement for growth. Based on weight gain response, the daily lysine requirement for growth was 12.06 mg/g gain and the daily lysine requirement for maintenance was 0.332 times metabolic body size ($W^{0.75}$). Similarly, the lysine requirement for growth was 0.457 mg/mg nitrogen gain and the daily lysine requirement for maintenance was 0.344 times metabolic body size. The plateau of plasma lysine concentration was reached at 354.75 mg intake/day. The total lysine requirement was 414.27 mg/day or 1.0% of the diet, 420.11 mg/day or 1.01% of the diet based on weight gain response and N gain response, respectively. Previous lysine requirements for growing chicks of 1-28 days old were in close agreement with these estimates. As a percentage of protein, lysine requirement was calculated to be 7.3% and the reported lysine content of chick muscle crude protein of 7.46% was closely related.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.669-676
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• 2007

This study was conducted to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting growth and body composition in an $F_2$ reference population of Korean native pig and Landrace crossbreds. The three-generation mapping population was generated with 411 progeny from 38 $F_2$ full-sib families, and 133 genetic markers were used to produce a sex-average map of the 18 autosomes. The data set was analyzed using least squares Mendelian and parent-of-origin interval-mapping models. Lack-of-fit tests between the models were used to characterize QTL for mode of expressions. A total of 8 (39) QTL were detected at the 5% genome (chromosome)-wise level for the 17 analyzed traits. Of the 47 QTL detected, 21 QTL were classified as Mendelian expressed, 13 QTL as paternally expressed, 6 QTL as maternally expressed, and 7 QTL as partially expressed. Of the detected QTL at 5% genome-wise level, two QTL had Mendelian mode of inheritance on SSC6 and SSC9 for backfat thickness and bone weight, respectively, two QTL were maternally expressed for leather weight and front leg weight on SSC6 and SSC12, respectively, one QTL was paternally expressed for birth weight on SSC4, and three QTL were partially expressed for hot carcass weight and rear leg weight on SSC6, and bone weight on SSC13. Many of the Mendelian QTL had a dominant (complete or overdominant) mode of gene action, and only a few of the QTL were primarily additive, which reflects that heterosis for growth is appreciable in a cross between Korean native pig and Landrace. Our results indicate that alternate breed alleles of growth and body composition QTL are segregating between the two breeds, which could be utilized for genetic improvement of growth via marker-assisted selection.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.347-354
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• 2015

This study evaluated whether dietary supplementation of tapioca could alleviate the negative effects of palm kernel meal (PKM) on growth performance and meat quality in growing and finishing pigs. In experiment 1, 120 73-dold crossbred growing pigs [$(Yorkshire{\times}Landrace){\times}Duroc$], with an average body weight of $31.7{\pm}4.5kg$, were used in a 3-week trial. In experiment 2, 120 108-d-old crossbred finishing pigs [$(Yorkshire{\times}Landrace){\times}Duroc$], with an average BW of $52.6{\pm}4.2kg$ were used in a 10-week trial. Treatments were: CON, a corn-soybean meal-based diet; PKM, 8% PKM, and TPKM, 8% PKM and 10% tapioca. No difference was observed in growth performance or meat quality among treatments in growing pigs. In finishing pigs, no difference was observed in growth performance or meat quality among CON and TPKM dietary treatments. Finishing pigs fed PKM decreases in final BW and ADG compared with those fed CON. Meat quality was not affected by dietary treatments. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of tapioca alleviated anti-nutritional effect of PKM on growth performance in growing and finishing pigs. Thus, the PKM with tapioca could be an available alternative energy source to reduce the cost of pig diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.301-304
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• 2004

The polymorphism of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF I) in 6 chicken breeds (total n=515) was detected by PCR-Pst IRFLP, and allele A (621 bp) or allele B (364 and 257 bp) were observed. In these chicken breeds, it was found that exotic chicken carried high frequencies of allele B, while Chinese native chicken breeds carried high frequencies of allele A. Meanwhile the role of IGF I was investigated in 133 Ningdu Yellow chicken and 162 Wanzhai Yellow chicken. Five growth traits were recorded for analyzing the association between IGFI gene polymorphism and performance. In both the Ningdu and Wanzhai Yellow breeds, body weight at 4 months was significantly higher with BB genotype than with AA genotype (p<0.05). Furthermore, body weight at 2 months in the Wanzhai Yellow breeds was also higher with BB genotype than with AA genotype (p<0.05). There were no differences among the genotypes for the other traits studied. Based on these results, it is necessary to do more studies on IGFI before making the IGFI locus into the application of maker-assisted selection programms.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of age and diet forms on growth-development patterns, serum metabolism indicators, and parameters of body fat deposition in Cherry Valley ducks. Methods: According to the hatching age and initial weight, a total of 150 1-day-old male SM3 Cherry Valley ducks were randomly assigned to two diet forms (pellet vs powder form). Each treatment had with 5 replicates per treatment and 15 meat ducks per replicate. The study lasted 42 d, which was divided into two periods (1 to 21 vs 22 to 42 d). Results: Our results showed that compared with powder group, ducks in pellet group had greater growth performance during different period (p<0.05). The inflection point was 24 d and was not numerically affected by diet forms. Increasing age (42 vs 21 d) significantly increased the weight of body fat and hepatic fat metabolism related enzyme activities in ducks (p<0.05), meanwhile, increasing age (42 vs 21 d) improved serum metabolism indicators and decreased mRNA expression levels of fat metabolism-related genes in liver (p<0.05). Ducks fed different diets (pellet vs powder form) increased growth performance as well as the weight of body fat and improved serum metabolism indicators (p<0.05). In addition, interactions were found between age and diet forms on the levels of serum metabolism indicators in ducks (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, powder feed reduced growth performance of ducks, and the day of inflection point was 24 days old. Ducks with higher age or fed with pellet diet showed higher fat deposition. The effect of age and feed forms on body fat deposition might result from changes in the contents of serum metabolism indicators, key enzyme activity of lipid production, and hepatic gene expressions.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.513-518
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• 2017

Soybean, one of most widely used swine feed component in the world, contains non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). The digestive system of weaned pigs is not yet fully developed, and thus weaned pigs cannot easily digest diets based on corn and soybean meal. Dietary exogenous enzymes supplementation has been intensively investigated to assist digestion of anti-nutritional factors, such as NSP. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary enzyme cocktail on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs. A total 36 weaned pigs ($5.92{\pm}0.48kg\;BW$; 28 d old) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments (3 pigs/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were a typical diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) and CON with 0.05% enzyme cocktail (Cocktail; mixture of xylanase, ${\alpha}-amylase$, protease, ${\beta}-glucanase$, and pectinase). Pigs were fed their respective diets for 6 wk. Growth performance, morphology of ileum, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, crude protein, and energy of weaned pigs were measured. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed for growth performance for the duration of the experimental period, and morphology of ileum, and nutrient digestibility between CON and Cocktail treatment groups. Therefore, the results from the current study indicated that enzyme cocktail supplementation in diets had no influence on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.462-469
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify genomic regions or genes controlling growth traits in pigs. Methods: Using a panel of 54,148 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we performed a genome-wide Association (GWA) study in 562 pure Yorshire pigs with four growth traits: average daily gain from 30 kg to 100 kg or 115 kg, and days to 100 kg or 115 kg. Fixed and random model Circulating Probability Unification method was used to identify the associations between 54,148 SNPs and these four traits. SNP annotations were performed through the Sus scrofa data set from Ensembl. Bioinformatics analysis, including gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis and network analysis, was used to identify the candidate genes. Results: We detected 6 significant and 12 suggestive SNPs, and identified 9 candidate genes in close proximity to them (suppressor of glucose by autophagy [SOGA1], R-Spondin 2 [RSPO2], mitogen activated protein kinase kinase 6 [MAP2K6], phospholipase C beta 1 [PLCB1], rho GTPASE activating protein 24 [ARHGAP24], cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 4 [CPEB4], GLI family zinc finger 2 [GLI2], neuronal tyrosine-phosphorylated phosphoinositide-3-kinase adaptor 2 [NYAP2], and zinc finger protein multitype 2 [ZFPM2]). Gene ontology analysis and literature mining indicated that the candidate genes are involved in bone, muscle, fat, and lung development. Pathway analysis revealed that PLCB1 and MAP2K6 participate in the gonadotropin signaling pathway and suggests that these two genes contribute to growth at the onset of puberty. Conclusion: Our results provide new clues for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying growth traits, and may help improve these traits in future breeding programs.