• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.775-783
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic effects of six keratin (KRT) genes on the wool traits of 418 Chinese Merino (Xinjiang type) (CMXT) individuals. Methods: To explore the effects and association of six KRT genes on sheep wool traits, The polymerase chain reaction-based single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), DNA sequencing, and the gene pyramiding effect methods were used. Results: We report 20 mutation sites (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) within the six KRT genes, in which twelve induced silent mutations; five induced missense mutations and resulted in $Ile{\rightarrow}Thr$, $Glu{\rightarrow}Asp$, $Gly{\rightarrow}Ala$, $Ala{\rightarrow}Ser$, $Se{\rightarrow}His$; two were nonsense mutations and one was a same-sense mutation. Association analysis showed that two genotypes of the KRT31 gene were significantly associated with fiber diameter (p<0.05); three genotypes of the KRT36 gene were significantly associated with wool fineness score and fiber diameter (p<0.05), three genotypes of the KRT38 gene were significantly associated with the number of crimps (p<0.05); and three genotypes of the KRT85 gene were significantly associated with wool crimps score, body size, and fiber diameter (p<0.05). Analysis of the gene pyramiding effect between the different genotypes of the gene loci KRT36, KRT38, and KRT85, each genotype in a gene locus was combined with all the genotypes of another two gene loci and formed the different three loci combinations, indicated a total of 26 types of possible combined genotypes in the analyzed population. Compared with the other combined genotypes, the combinations CC-GG-II, CC-HH-IJ, CC-HH-JJ, DD-HH-JJ, CC-GH-IJ, and CC-GH-JJ at gene loci KRT36, KRT38, and KRT85, respectively, had a greater effect on wool traits (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicate that the mutation loci of KRT31, KRT36, KRT38, and KRT85 genes, as well as the combinations at gene loci KRT36, KRT38, and KRT85 in CMXT have significant effects on wool traits, suggesting that these genes are important candidate genes for wool traits, which will contribute to sheep breeding and provide a molecular basis for improved wool quality in sheep.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.309-314
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• 2006

The present investigation was undertaken to study the milkability characteristics of Holstein cows. Out of 6,660 initial records 4,607 records were finally included in the analysis after deleting some records with an abnormal range of values for the traits considered. These 4,607 Holstein cows belonged to a total of 122 herds located in a province in Korea. The 'LactoCorder' instrument was used to electronically record the milkability traits at the milking parlor. A total of 19 traits were studied which were broadly classified into milk yield, milking speed, milking time and the electrical conductivity related traits. The SAS 9.1 statistical software was used to carry out analyses. The average maximum milk flow per minute was 3.21 kg/min, while the average milking speed during the main milking process (DMHG) had a mean value of 2.30 kg/min. The total milk yield was 14.14 kg, 62% of which was milked during the first three minutes of the milking. The average total milking time was 8.23 min. Among the three phases of the main milking process, the time of stable milk flow had the longest time (2.97 min) followed by the time at the decline phase (2.62 min). The average time taken to reach the plateau phase was 1.08 min, which can still be reduced further through improved managemental practices. Among milk yield traits, milk yield during the first two (MG2) and three (MG3) minutes of milking had high positive correlation with milking speed traits and negative correlations with almost all the milking time traits except time of incline in milk flow from 0.5 kg/min till the attainment of the plateau phase (tAN). Milking speed traits had negative correlations with total milking time, time at main milking process, time at plateau and with the time at decline. Since there was medium to high negative correlation between the milking speed and the time at plateau, there is a need for selection of cows which have intermediate milking speed so that it could require less milking time and also the optimum (higher and longer) plateau time. Proper pre-stimulation and avoiding over milking will help in further reducing the milking time and thus will add to the net profit of the farmer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.303-308
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• 2002

Genetic markers engendered by genome projects drew enormous interest in quantitative genetics, but knowledge on genetic architecture of complex traits is limited. Complexities in genetics will not allow us to easily clarify relationship between genotypes and phenotypes for quantitative traits. Quantitative genetics guides an important way in facing such challenges. It is our exciting task to find genes that affect complex traits. In this paper, landmark research and future prospects are discussed on genetic parameter estimation and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping as major subjects of interest.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.1180-1193
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• 2023

Most carcass and meat quality traits are moderate to highly heritable, indicating that they can be improved through selection. Genetic evaluation for these types of traits is performed using performance data obtained from commercial and progeny testing evaluation. The performance data from commercial farms are available in large volume, however, some drawbacks have been observed. The drawback of the commercial data is mainly due to sorting of animals based on live weight prior to slaughter, and this could lead to bias in the genetic evaluation of later measured traits such as carcass traits. The current study has two components to address the drawback of the commercial data. The first component of the study aimed to estimate genetic parameters for carcass and meat quality traits in Korean Hanwoo cattle using a large sample size of industry-based carcass performance records (n = 469,002). The second component of the study aimed to describe the impact of sorting animals into different contemporary groups based on an early measured trait and then examine the effect on the genetic evaluation of subsequently measured traits. To demonstrate our objectives, we used real performance data to estimate genetic parameters and simulated data was used to assess the bias in genetic evaluation. The results of our first study showed that commercial data obtained from slaughterhouses is a potential source of carcass performance data and useful for genetic evaluation of carcass traits to improve beef cattle performance. However, we observed some harvesting effect which leads to bias in genetic evaluation of carcass traits. This is mainly due to the selection of animal based on their body weight before arrival to slaughterhouse. Overall, the non-random allocation of animals into a contemporary group leads to a biased estimated breeding value in genetic evaluation, the severity of which increases when the evaluation traits are highly correlated.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1080-1087
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• 2008

Lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and CD14 protein play important roles in the defense against infection of Gram-negative bacteria. In the present study, tissue distribution and polymorphism of porcine LBP and CD14 genes were analyzed. Real-time PCR results showed that the porcine LBP gene was especially highly expressed in liver, while CD14 gene was highly expressed in liver and spleen tissues. A 1,732 bp cDNA fragment of porcine LBP gene and a 1,682 bp genomic DNA fragment of CD14 gene were isolated. Polymorphisms were identified in these two fragments and showed that there were 14 potential SNPs in the porcine LBP gene and 3 potential SNPs in the porcine CD14 gene. Three SNPs, 292G/A (Gly/Ser), 1168G/A (Ala/Thr) of the LBP gene and -61G/A of the CD14 gene, were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. Association analyses indicated that polymorphism of the 292G/A locus was significantly associated with porcine immune traits hematocrit (HCT), IgG and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) (p<0.01), and the 1168G/A locus was significantly associated with HCT and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) traits (p<0.05). No significant association was found between the -61G/A locus and immune traits of the pig. Our data indicated that the LBP gene was significantly associated with immune traits of pig. Also, we identified some SNPs which may be useful markers for disease-resistant breeding of pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1239-1244
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• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to estimate breed-specific variance components for total number born (TNB), number born alive (NBA) and mortality rate from birth through weaning including stillbirths (MORT) of three main swine breeds in Korea. In addition, the importance of including maternal genetic and service sire effects in estimation models was evaluated. Methods: Records of farrowing traits from 6,412 Duroc, 18,020 Landrace, and 54,254 Yorkshire sows collected from January 2001 to September 2016 from different farms in Korea were used in the analysis. Animal models and the restricted maximum likelihood method were used to estimate variances in animal genetic, permanent environmental, maternal genetic, service sire and residuals. Results: The heritability estimates ranged from 0.072 to 0.102, 0.090 to 0.099, and 0.109 to 0.121 for TNB; 0.087 to 0.110, 0.088 to 0.100, and 0.099 to 0.107 for NBA; and 0.027 to 0.031, 0.050 to 0.053, and 0.073 to 0.081 for MORT in the Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire breeds, respectively. The proportion of the total variation due to permanent environmental effects, maternal genetic effects, and service sire effects ranged from 0.042 to 0.088, 0.001 to 0.031, and 0.001 to 0.021, respectively. Spearman rank correlations among models ranged from 0.98 to 0.99, demonstrating that the maternal genetic and service sire effects have small effects on the precision of the breeding value. Conclusion: Models that include additive genetic and permanent environmental effects are suitable for farrowing traits in Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire populations in Korea. This breed-specific variance components estimates for litter traits can be utilized for pig improvement programs in Korea.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.537-542
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• 2011

Biological or physiological genes that regulate metabolism and energy partitioning have the potential to influence economically important traits such as carcass and meat quality traits in beef cattle. The neuropeptide Y (NPY) functions as a central appetite stimulator and plays a major role in feed intake and energy-balance control. Therefore, the NPY gene is an excellent biological and physiological candidate gene for body weight, feeding, fatness or growth related traits in beef cattle. The objective of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NPY gene and to evaluate the association of NPY SNP markers with carcass and meat quality traits in Korean cattle. The genomic region (711 bp) including intron 2 of NPY gene was amplified and sequenced, and five SNPs, g.4389 Del(C), g.4371Del(C), g.4271T>C, g.1899A>G and g.1517A>C, were identified. The PCR-RFLP method was then developed to genotype the individuals examined. The g.4271T>C SNP was significantly associated with M. Longissimus dori area (LDA) value (p<0.027). Animals with the TT ($78.144{\pm}0.950\;cm^2$) genotype had higher LDA than those with the CC ($72.266{\pm}2.039\;cm^2$), and animals with TC genotype showed intermediate value. This SNP genotype also showed a highly significant additive genetic effect for the LDA (p<0.01). No significant associations, however, was detected between any of the SNP genotype and other carcass traits measured in this study. In conclusion, SNP genotype of the NPY gene may be used as DNA markers to select animals that have a higher meat yield.

• 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.18 no.8
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• pp.1088-1097
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• 2005

Main objectives of this study were to investigate accuracy, bias and power of linear and threshold model segregation analysis methods for detection of major genes in categorical traits in farm animals. Maximum Likelihood Linear Model (MLLM), Bayesian Linear Model (BALM) and Bayesian Threshold Model (BATM) were applied to simulated data on normal, categorical and binary scales as well as to disease data in pigs. Simulated data on the underlying normally distributed liability (NDL) were used to create categorical and binary data. MLLM method was applied to data on all scales (Normal, categorical and binary) and BATM method was developed and applied only to binary data. The MLLM analyses underestimated parameters for binary as well as categorical traits compared to normal traits; with the bias being very severe for binary traits. The accuracy of major gene and polygene parameter estimates was also very low for binary data compared with those for categorical data; the later gave results similar to normal data. When disease incidence (on binary scale) is close to 50%, segregation analysis has more accuracy and lesser bias, compared to diseases with rare incidences. NDL data were always better than categorical data. Under the MLLM method, the test statistics for categorical and binary data were consistently unusually very high (while the opposite is expected due to loss of information in categorical data), indicating high false discovery rates of major genes if linear models are applied to categorical traits. With Bayesian segregation analysis, 95% highest probability density regions of major gene variances were checked if they included the value of zero (boundary parameter); by nature of this difference between likelihood and Bayesian approaches, the Bayesian methods are likely to be more reliable for categorical data. The BATM segregation analysis of binary data also showed a significant advantage over MLLM in terms of higher accuracy. Based on the results, threshold models are recommended when the trait distributions are discontinuous. Further, segregation analysis could be used in an initial scan of the data for evidence of major genes before embarking on molecular genome mapping.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.517-526
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• 2022

Objective: The growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8) gene plays a key role in bone formation, resorption, and skeletal muscle development in mammals. Here, we studied the genetic variants of GDF8 and their contribution to body conformation traits in Chinese Dabieshan cattle. Methods: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the bovine GDF8 gene by DNA sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis, motif analysis, and genetic diversity analysis were conducted using bioinformatics software. Association analysis between five SNPs, haplotype combinations, and body conformation traits was conducted in 380 individuals. Results: The GDF8 was highly conserved in seven species, and the GDF8 sequence of cattle was most similar to the sequences of sheep and goat based on the phylogenetic analysis. The motif analysis showed that there were 12 significant motifs in GDF8. Genetic diversity analysis indicated that the polymorphism information content of the five studied SNPs was within 0.25 to 0.5. Haplotype analysis revealed a total of 12 different haplotypes and those with a frequency of <0.05 were excluded. Linkage disequilibrium analysis showed a strong linkage (r²>0.330) between the following SNPs: g.5070C>A, g.5076T>C, and g.5148A>C. Association analysis indicated these five SNPs were associated with some of the body conformation traits (p<0.05), and the animals with haplotype combination H1H1 (-GGGG CCTTAA-) had greater wither height, hip height, heart girth, abdominal girth, and pin bone width than the other (p<0.05) Dabieshan cattle. Conclusion: Overall, our results indicate that the genetic variants of GDF8 affected the body conformation traits of Chinese Dabieshan cattle, and the GDF8 gene could make a strong candidate gene in Dabieshan cattle breeding programs.