• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.1592-1597
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• 2001

Sixteen pigs from 2 distinct genetic lines (LGAH and VFIL) obtained after eight generations of divergent selection for high (H) and low (L) lean tissue growth rate with ad-libitum feeding (LGA) and voluntary feed intake (VF1), respectively, were used in this study. The objectives of this investigation were to establish appropriate working conditions for the postheparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) assay and to study relationships between fat deposition and plasma lipids, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) lipids, VLDL-subfractions and postheparin plasma LPL activity in growing pigs. Four preliminary experiments were performed to determine the appropriate working conditions for the postheparin plasma LPL assays. Postheparin plasma preincubated with SDS (20-50 mM) at $26^{\circ}C$ for 45 minutes inhibited hepatic lipase activity. A total of $2{\mu}l$ VLDL/assay produced maximum stimulation of LPL activity. Postheparin plasma protein and increasing incubation time contributed an optimum response. LGAH pigs had a significantly higher proportion subtraction 2 than VFIL pigs. No differences were observed in postheparin plasma LPL activity and backfat thickness for two lines of pigs. There were positive correlations between backfat thickness and proportion of subtractions 2 and postheparin plasma LPL activity but the results were not statistically significant. Backfat thickness was not statistically correlated with proportion of subtraction 2 and postheparin plasma LPL activity in a multiple regression analysis. It is believed that the apolipoprotein E, which is present in higher quantities in VLDL-subfraction 2 plays an important role for clearing VLDL triacylglycerol into adipose tissue. LPL activity of pigs can be measured by using postheparin plasma technique. If the relationships of backfat thickness and VLDL-subfraction 2 and postheparin plasma LPL activity can be established, it suggests that these parameters could be used as indicators in selection programmes. Further experiments need to be conducted by using larger sample size and different breed of pigs with greater differences in backfat thicknesses to confirm these trends.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.1331-1338
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• 2018

Although there have been plenty of dominance deviation analysis, few studies have dealt with multiple phenotypes. Because researchers focused on multiple phenotypes (final weight and backfat thickness) of Landrace pigs, the classification of the genes was possible. With genome-wide association studies (GWASs), we analyzed the additive and dominance effects of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The classification of the pig genes into four categories (overdominance in final weight, overdominance in backfat thickness and overdominance in final weight, underdominance in backfat thickness, etc.) can enable us not only to analyze each phenotype's dominant effects, but also to illustrate the gene ontology (GO) analysis with different aspects. We aimed to determine the additive and dominant effect in backfat thickness and final weight and performed GO analysis. Using additive model and dominance deviation analysis in GWASs, Landrace pigs' overdominant and underdominant SNP effects in final weight and backfat thickness were surveyed. Then through GO analysis, we investigated the genes that were classified in the GWASs. The major GO terms of the underdominant effects in final weight and overdominant effects in backfat thickness were ion transport with the SLC8A3, KCNJ16, P2RX7 and TRPC3 genes. Interestingly, the major GO terms in the underdominant effects in the final weight and the underdominant effects in the backfat thickness were the regulation of ion transport with the STAC, GCK, TRPC6, UBASH3B, CAMK2D, CACNG4 and SCN4B genes. These results demonstrate that ion transport and ion transport regulation genes have distinct dominant effects. Through GWASs using the mode of linear additive model and dominance deviation, overdominant effects and underdominant effects in backfat thickness was contrary to each other in GO terms (ion transport and ion transport regulation, respectively). Additionally, because ion transport and ion transport regulation genes are associative with adipose tissue accumulation, we could infer that these two groups of genes had to do with unique fat accumulation mechanisms in Landrace pigs.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.404-416
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• 2023

Objective: Daweizi (DWZ) is a famous indigenous pig breed in China and characterized by tender meat and high fat percentage. However, the expression profiles and functions of transcripts in DWZ pigs is still in infancy. The object of this study was to depict the transcript profiles in DWZ pigs and screen the potential pathway influence adipogenesis and fat deposition, Methods: Histological analysis of backfat tissue was firstly performed between DWZ and lean-type Yorkshire pigs, and then RNA sequencing technology was utilized to explore miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs profiles in backfat tissue. 18 differentially expressed (DE) transcripts were randomly selected for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) to validate the reliability of the sequencing results. Finally, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were conducted to investigate the potential pathways influence adipocyte differentiation, adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, and a schematic model was further proposed. Results: A total of 1,625 differentially expressed transcripts were identified in DWZ pigs, including 27 upregulated and 45 downregulated miRNAs, 64 upregulated and 119 down-regulated lncRNA, 814 upregulated and 556 downregulated mRNAs. QPCR analysis exhibited strong consistency with the sequencing data. GO and KEGG analysis elucidated that the differentially expressed transcripts were mainly associated with cell growth and death, signal transduction, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), PI3K-Akt, adipocytokine and foxo signaling pathways, all of which are strongly involved in cell development, lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. Further analysis indicated that the BGIR9823_87926/miR-194a-5p/AQP7 network may be effective in the process of adipocyte differentiation or adipogenesis. Conclusion: Our study provides comprehensive insights into the regulatory network of backfat deposition and lipid metabolism in pigs from the point of view of miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.682-685
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• 2005

Large White, an introduced European pig breed, and Meishan, a Chinese indigenous pig breed, were hybridized directly and reciprocally and a total of 260 pigs, including purebreds, Large White and Meishan, and their hybrids, White${\times}$Meishan (LM) and Meishan${\times}$Large White (ML) pigs, were bred in our laboratory. The mRNA differential display PCR (DD-PCR) was used to detect the age-dependent changes of differential gene expression in backfat tissue between hybrids and parents. Some measures were taken to reduce the false positives in our experiment. Among the total of 2,686 bands obtained, 1,952 bands (about 72.67%) were reproducible and eight patterns (fifteen kinds) of gene expression were observed. The percentage of differentially expressed genes between hybrids and parents is 56.86% at the age of four months and 57.71% at the age of six months. This indicated that the differences of gene expression between hybrids and their parents were very obvious. U-test was used to compare the patterns of gene expression between the age of four and six months, and results showed that bands occurring in only one hybrid and bands displayed in one hybrid and one parent were significantly different at p<0.05, and bands visualized in only two hybrids were significantly different at p<0.01. These indicated that differential gene expression between hybrids and parents changed at different ages.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.712-720
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich microalgae, Aurantiochytrium limacinum (AURA) on pig performance, carcass traits, and the fatty acid composition of pork Longissimus lumborum (LL) and backfat. Methods: A total of 144 Pig Improvement Company (PIC)${\times}$Goland finishing pigs (72 females and 72 castrated males) of mean weight 117.1 (${\pm}13.1$) kg were blocked by sex and body weight and provided with 0% or 1% AURA in isonutritive and isocaloric diets. A total of 24 pens provided 12 replicates per treatment. Animals were weighed on day 0 and 28 with feed and water intake recorded per pen. After 31 days supplementation (28 days of study and 3 days until the slaughtering date) three animals per pen (n = 72) were slaughtered and the LL and backfat thickness, lean meat content and dressing percentage were recorded for the carcasses. The fatty acid (FA) profile of the LL and backfat was established by direct FA methyl ester synthesis. Results: No differences were observed for any performance parameters or carcass traits. Supplementation with AURA resulted in significant changes to the FA profiles of both the LL and backfat with male and female pigs responding differently to supplementation in terms of particular FAs. Overall, pork LL samples had significantly higher eicosapentaenoic acid (p<0.001) and DHA concentrations (p<0.001), and higher omega-3 (n-3) FAs (p<0.001), as well as an increased omega3:omega6 (n-3:n-6) ratio (p = 0.001). For backfat, supplementation resulted in significantly higher amounts of DHA (p<0.001) and n-3 FAs (p<0.001). Conclusion: These results indicate that dietary supplementation with 1% AURA over a 31 day period can increase the FA composition of pork LL and backfat, specifically the DHA, with no major impact on growth performance and carcass traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1365-1373
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• 2013

Fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) plays an important role in appetite control and energy consumption in human and mice. In order to examine FTO expression influence on fat deposition in Suzhong pigs, FTO mRNA expression was detected in 16 tissues by RT-PCR, FTO protein expression was detected in 5 tissues by western blot, and association of FTO polymorphism with meat quality traits was analyzed in Suzhong populations with 714 records. RT-PCR results revealed that FTO mRNA was expressed in all sixteen tissues with significant differences (p<0.05), expression in backfat was significantly higher than that of any other tissue (p<0.05), and expression in longissimus dorsi muscle had the second highest significance level (p<0.05). Western blot results demonstrated that FTO protein was highly expressed in backfat and longissimus dorsi muscle. Furthermore, FTO mRNA and protein expression in tissues of high-fat pigs was significantly higher than that of low-fat pigs (p<0.05), suggesting FTO expression had advantageous effects on fat deposition. FTO polymorphism results evidenced that at A227G locus, G allele seemed to have advantageous effects on fat deposition, indicating it could be a significant candidate gene for improving pork quality in Suzhong pigs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2015

Genetic polymorphisms of adipocyte determination and differentiation factor 1 (ADD1) gene were screened in Hanwoo and Jeju Black cattle-derived commercial (JBC-DC) populations. The ADD1 genotypes were determined using the presence/absence of 84-bp fragment at intron 7 region. The association of ADD1 genotypes for economic traits was examined in both populations. In the Hanwoo steers, ADD1 D/- carcasses showed significantly thicker backfat levels than those from WW (p<0.05). However, the thickest level of backfat appeared in WD heterozygotes, whereas thicker backfat did not appear in DD homozygotes in the JBC-DC population (p<0.05), leading to the supposition that synergic effects of alleles W and D increase backfat deposition. On the other hand, there was no association between the ADD1 genotypes and intramuscular fat deposition measured as meat quality index and marbling score. From these results, we concluded that the bovine ADD1 affected the backfat in subcutaneous tissue, rather than intramuscular fat in muscle tissue. In addition, the DD animals showed higher levels of meat color than those from W/- (p<0.05). Interestingly, a highly significant difference was found between the genotypes and carcass weights only in the JBC-DC population, and D/- animals were heavier by more than 38 kg than those from WW (p<0.001). The results of this study reveal faster growth rate and differences in steer productivity according to genotypes of the ADD1 gene. These findings demonstrate that ADD1 genotypes may effectively function as molecular genetic markers for the improvement of Hanwoo and Jeju Black cattle-related crossbreeding systems.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.895-903
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• 2021

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of various dietary unsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratios (UFA to SFA ratios) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood lipid parameters, tissue fatty acid (FA) composition, and meat quality of finishing pigs. Methods: A total of 45 crossbred pigs ([Duroc×Landrace]×Yorkshire), with an average initial body weight of 60.3±2.4 kg, were randomly allocated to three treatment groups of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 dietary UFA to SFA ratios. Results: Both average daily gain and average daily feed intake of pigs were decreased linearly (p<0.05), whereas backfat thickness was decreased linearly (p<0.05) with increasing of dietary UFA to SFA ratio. Serum triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were decreased quadratically or linearly (p<0.05) respectively, whereas high density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased quadratically (p<0.05) with increasing dietary UFA to SFA ratio. In M. longissimus thoracis, the proportion of C18:1 and monounsaturated FA was decreased linearly (p<0.05), whereas the proportion of C18:2n-6, C20:4n-6 and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) were increased linearly (p<0.05) as dietary UFA to SFA ratio increased. In the subcutaneous adipose tissue, the proportion of SFA was decreased linearly (p<0.05), whereas the proportion of n-6 PUFA, n-3 PUFA, and the UFA to SFA ratios were increased linearly (p<0.05) with increasing of dietary UFA to SFA ratio. Meat color scores and shear force of pigs were decreased linearly (p<0.05), whereas drip loss and cooking loss were increased linearly (p<0.05) with increasing of dietary UFA to SFA ratio. Conclusion: Appropriately boosted dietary UFA to SFA ratio could be conductive to optimize blood lipid parameters and tissue FA composition. However, when the ratio is too high or too low it tends to have negative effects on growth performance and meat quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1118-1122
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• 2004

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chromium nanoparticle (CrNano) on growth, carcass characteristics, pork quality, and tissue chromium in finishing pigs. A total of 100 Duroc$\times$Landrace$\times$Yorkshire barrows (average initial BW of 64.78$\pm$0.83 kg) were divided into 10 pens, 10 pigs per pen. 5 pens of pigs were fed with control diet (corn-soybean meal, 1.05% Lys) and others were fed with control diet addition with 200 $\mu$g/kg Chrome (Cr) from CrNano. During the trial, all pigs were given free access to feed and water. After 35 days trial, 10 pigs from each each treatment (weight similar to average group weight, 91.34$\pm$1.31 kg for control group, and 92.26$\times$0.56 kg for CrNano treated group) were sacrificed to measure carcass characteristics, pork quality, and to collect the samples of longissimus muscle, liver, kidney and heart. The results indicated that the addition of 200 $\mu$g/kg CrNano decreased feed: gain ratio by 3.56% (p<0.05) compared to the control group. Pigs fed CrNano had 14.06% higher (p<0.05) carcass lean percentage, 19.96% (p<0.05) larger longissimus muscle area and 25.53% lower (p<0.05) carcass fat percentage, 18.22% lower (p<0.05) backfat thickness. Drip loss in chops from pigs fed CrNano was decreased by 21.48% (p<0.05) and weights of longissimus muscle and semimembranosus were increased by 16.33% (p<0.05) and 14.87% (p<0.05) respectively. In addition, supplemental CrNano resulted in 184.11% (p<0.05), 144.99% (p<0.05), 88.13% (p<0.05) and 52.60% (p<0.05) increment of Cr concentration in longissimus muscle, liver, kidney and heart, respectively. These results suggest that supplemental CrNano has beneficial effects on carcass characteristics, pork quality and individual skeletal muscle weight, increase tissue chromium concentration in selected muscle and organs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.168-174
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• 2017

We hypothesized that supplementing finishing diets with palm oil would promote adipogenic gene expression but depress stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene expression in intramuscular (i.m.) adipose tissues of Hanwoo steers during fattening period (from 16 to 32 mon of age). Fourteen Hanwoo steers were allotted randomly to 2 groups of 7 steers based on initial BW and fed either a basal diet (control) or the basal diet supplemented with 5% palm oil (BDSP). At slaughter, i.m. adipose tissue was harvested for analysis of adipogenic gene expression and fatty acid composition. There were no differences in BW or average daily gain between treatment groups. Supplemental palm oil had no effect on carcass quality traits (carcass weight, backfat thickness, loin muscle area, or marbling scores) or meat color values. Palm oil increased (p<0.05) expression of AMP-activated protein kinase-${\alpha}$ and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}$, but decreased (p<0.05) CAAT/enhancer binding protein-${\beta}$ gene expression and tended to decrease stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene expression in i.m. adipose tissue. Palm oil increased total i.m. polyunsaturated fatty acids (p<0.05) compared to the control i.m. adipose tissue, but had no effect on saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids. Although there were significant effects of supplemental palm oil on i.m. adipose tissue gene expression, the absence of negative effects on carcass and meat characteristics indicates that palm oil could be a suitable dietary supplement for the production of Hanwoo beef cattle.