• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.168-177
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• 2019

This study was conducted to examine the impact of various environmental factors on the feeding behavior of black-faced spoonbills Platalea minor known to use rice fields during the breeding season. We surveyed the rice fields three times a month from April to June 2017 and from April to June 2018. We counted the number of black-faced spoonbills and measured the environmental factors such as the water depth, paddy type by cultivation stage, and biomass of potential prey that are expected to affect black-faced spoonbills. We also filmed the feeding behavior of black-faced spoonbills to examine differences in feeding behavior by environmental factors. The survey showed that the number of black-faced spoonbills reached its peak from late April to late May which was the breeding period. Among a total of 308 black-faced spoonbills observed, 86.4% (n=266) were observed feeding on rice paddies, 90.6% (n=279) were adults, and none was observed on dry paddies. The biomass of rice paddy increased significantly since May when fish started hatching, and there was a significant difference in the amount of biomass between the rice paddies where black-faced spoonbills were observed and other rice paddies. The analysis of the feeding behavior of black-faced spoonbills showed that the feeding efficiency and feeding success rate of black-faced spoonbills increased significantly when the amount of biomass soared and that the number of steps of black-faced spoonbills per minute increased greatly after rice planting was completed. The number of bill sweeping was not related to the feeding efficiency, feeding success rate, and paddy type by cultivation stage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2017

Unfavorable weather and soil conditions reduce rice yield and land and water productivity, aggravating existing encounters of poverty and food insecurity. These conditions are foreseen to worsen with climate change and with the unceasing irrational human practices that progressively debilitate productivity despite global appeals for more food. Our understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses is advancing and is complex, involving numerous critical processes - each controlled by several genetic factors. Knowledge of the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in signaling, response and adaptation, and in some cases the genes involved, is advancing. Moreover, the genetic diversity being unveiled within cultivated rice and its wild relatives is providing ample resources for trait and gene discovery, and this is being scouted for rice improvement using modern genomics and molecular tools. Development of stress tolerant varieties is now being fast-tracked through the use of DNA markers and advanced breeding strategies. Large numbers of drought, submergence and salt tolerant varieties were commercialized over recent years in South and Southeast Asia and more recently in Africa. These varieties are making significant changes in less favorable areas, transforming lives of smallholder farmers - progress considered incredulous in the past. The stress tolerant varieties are providing assurance to farmers to invest in better management of their crops and the ability to adjust their cropping systems for even higher productivity and more income, sparking changes analogous to that of the first green revolution, which previously benefited only favorable irrigated and rainfed areas. New breeding tools using markers for multiple stresses made it possible to develop more resilient, higher yielding varieties to replace the aging and obsolete varieties still dominating these areas. Varieties with multiple stress tolerances are now becoming available, providing even better security for farmers and lessening their production risks even in areas affected by complex and overlapping stresses. The progress made in these less favorable areas triggered numerous favorable changes at the national and regional levels in several countries in Asia, including adjusting breeding and dissemination strategies to accelerate outreach and enabling changes at higher policy levels, creating a positive environment for faster progress. Exploiting the potential of these less productive areas for food production is inevitable, to meet the escalating global needs for more food and sustained production systems, at times when national resources are shrinking while demand for food is mounting. However, the success in these areas requires concerted efforts to make use of existing genetic resources for crop improvement and establishing effective evaluation networks, seed production systems, and seed delivery systems to ensure faster outreach and transformation.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.223-234
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• 2013

Poultry industry is abounding day by day as it engrosses less cost of investment per bird as compared to large animals. Poultry have the most copious genomic tool box amongst domestic animals for the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and marker assisted selection (MAS). Use of multiple markers and least square techniques for mapping of QTL affecting quality and production traits in poultry is in vogue. Examples of genetic tests that are available to or used in industry programs are documented and classified into causative mutations (direct markers), linked markers in population-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the QTL (LD markers), and linked markers in population wide equilibrium with the QTL (LE markers). Development of genome-wide SNP assays, role of 42 K, 60 K (Illumina) and 600 K (Affymetrix$^{(R)}$ Axim$^{(R)}$) SNP chip with next generation sequencing for identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been documented. Hybridization based, PCR based, DNA chip and sequencing based are the major segments of DNA markers which help in conducting of MAS in poultry. Economic index-marker assisted selection (EI-MAS) provides platform for simultaneous selection for production traits while giving due weightage to their marginal economic values by calculating predicted breeding value, using information on DNA markers which are normally associated with relevant QTL. Understanding of linkage equilibrium, linkage dis-equilibrium, relation between the markers and gene of interest are quite important for success of MAS. This kind of selection is the most useful tool in enhancing disease resistance by identifying candidate genes to improve the immune response. The application of marker assisted selection in selection procedures would help in improvement of economic traits in poultry.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.217-222
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• 2011

Success in molecular breeding for better adapted varieties to environmental stresses depend upon the concerted efforts by various research including tissue culture, transformation, genetics and breeding. In order to optimize tissue culture conditions of Siberian wildrye grass, the effects of plant growth regulators on callus induction and plant regeneration were investigated with mature seeds. The highest callus induction frequency was observed when the mature seeds were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L 2,4-D. The highest plant regeneration frequency was observed when callus was transferred to N6 medium supplemented with 1 mg/L 2,4-D and 3 mg/L BA. Regenerated plants were grown normally when shoots were transplanted to the soil. A short tissue culture period and regeneration system would be beneficial for molecular breeding of Siberian wildrye grass by the production of transgenic plant.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2021

This study evaluated newly introduced, commercial super sweet corn hybrids (Zea mays L.) for their potential as breeding materials. Agronomic traits were measured and variance components were obtained using a linear mixed model to estimate the heritability. The trials were carried out in 2018 at two locations (Haenam and Oksan in South Korea). All traits had low heritability, except for mid tasseling and silking days. These traits with low heritability mostly had low genetic variance component estimate. In case of ear height ratio, significant genotype by location appeared to be responsible for low genetic variance, which in turn led to low heritability. Low heritability estimates from the trials with commercial hybrids were perhaps because those hybrids were highly improved for commercial success. Hence, this does not necessarily point to them having poor potential as breeding materials. To overcome low heritability, significant genotype by environment interaction, and achieve high selection efficiency, intermating among hybrids is recommended to create new recombinants before inbred line development.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 1991

The rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) established from the shattered grains by combine harvesting at the previous year showed great variations of yield and yield components from site to site at the abandoned rice crop field. The cultural condition was very similar to direct seeding under no-tillage system but no cultural practices such as application of fertilizer, weed control, irrigation and drainage had been carried out. The highest yield of 188kg/10a was observed at one of the quadrats randomly located on the field, which showed the possibility of exploitation of no-tillage system. The interrelationship between crop growth and coverage of weed species was measured by calculating the correlation coefficients. The investigations of how to establish sufficient number of seedlings per unit area, plant succession on the abandoned crop field, crop mixture with legume crops, and breeding appropriate plant type of rice for the enhancement of competitive ability would be required for the success of no-tillage system.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.219-223
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• 2013

DNA markers can determine the genotype of many species. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection is difficult without sequencing but it becomes easier with sdCAPS method. Here an experiment was performed for developing molecular markers using two SNPs, CSatpB-SNP and CSycf1-SNP, of chloroplast in cucumber plants. Properly designed primers with nucleotide sequences for restriction enzymes proved success of PCR and efficacy of digestion by the restriction enzymes. Then these markers were used to study the genotyping of cucumber breeding lines and cultivars obtained from various sources in respect of their chilling stress response. We confirmed that a U.S. cucumber line, 'NC76' known to possess a nuclear factor for the chilling tolerance showed the chloroplast genotypes related to chilling tolerance. However all Korean cucumber cultivars tested in this study showed the chloroplast genotypes related to chilling susceptibility. In conclusion, to develop chilling tolerant cucumber, both maternal and a nuclear factors related to chilling tolerance should be transferred from 'NC76' when 'NC76' is used as a female source and other elite lines as recurrent parents.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2019

The honey bee queen shows extreme polyandry and controlling the mating partners can only be possible either by artificial insemination or having remote isolated mating locations. Here we report on the German North Sea island of Heligoland. Because of its location 60 km from the mainland, the lack of a local population of honey bees, its size of just 1.4 ㎢ and suitable weather conditions during the months of May to July, it is considered an ideal location for controlled inseminations of high-quality virgin queen bees with drones deemed genetically superior to others. Methods how to rear virgin queen bees are described and information is provided on the numbers of queen bees, their supporting workers and drone bees that are taken to the island in the mating season. The bee most commonly involved in the Heligoland mating trials has become Apis mellifera carnica strain "Baltica". In one summer, for example, 80 virgin queens (belonging to beekeepers from nine different locations in northern Germany) each with about 600 worker bees plus two drone populations of around 2,000 drones were taken by ship to Heligoland. On their return to the mainland no later than 3.5 weeks after the mating exercise, the beekeepers could register a mating success rate of 80%. This information can help operation management of the new remote mating centre of Weedo Island, Jeonbuk in Korea, which is currently under construction.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.80-86
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• 2022

The ability to determine the sex of bovine embryos before the transfer is advantageous in livestock management, especially in dairy production, where female calves are preferred in milk industry. The milk production of female and male cattle benefits both the dairy and beef industries. Pre-implantation sexing of embryos also helps with embryo transfer success. There are two approaches for sexing bovine embryos in farm animals: invasive and non-invasive. A non-invasive method of embryo sexing retains the embryo's autonomy and, as a result, is less likely to impair the embryo's ability to move and implant successfully. There are lists of non-invasive embryo sexing such as; Detection of H-Y antigens, X-linked enzymes, and sexing based on embryo cleavage and development. Since it protects the embryo's autonomy, the non-invasive procedure is considered to be the safest. Invasive methods affect an embryo's integrity and are likely to damage the embryo's chances of successful transformation. There are different types of invasive methods such as polymerase chain reaction, detection of male chromatin Y chromosome-specific DNA probes, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), cytological karyotyping, and immunofluorescence (FISH). The PCR approach is highly sensitive, precise, and effective as compared to invasive methods of farm animal embryonic sexing. Invasive procedures, such as cytological karyotyping, have high accuracy but are impractical in the field due to embryonic effectiveness concerns. This technology can be applicable especially in the dairy and beef industry by producing female and male animals respectively. Enhancing selection accuracy and decreasing the multiple ovulation embryo transfer costs.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.159-170
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• 2024

Research to obtain molecular markers related to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene in both strains of gourami is essential to increase the success of the selection program of disease resistance traits. Using a completely randomized design (CRD), the challenge test consists of four treatments and seven replications. The treatment was Jambi gourami injected with PBS (KJ), Kalimantan gourami injected with PBS (KK), Jambi strain injected with Aeromonas hydrophila (GJ), and Kalimantan strain injected with A. hydrophila (GK). The GJ population was more resistant to A. hydrophila than the GK population. The MHC II gene was detected in both test strains (GJ and GK), both resistant and susceptible fish. However, there were differences in the results of amplifying the MHC II gene in susceptible and resistant fish. Two DNA fragments approximately 400 and 585 bp were detected in the genome of susceptible fish, while in the genome of susceptible fish, only one DNA fragment was detected (400 bp). Therefore, the MHC II gene fragment with a size of about 585 bp can be used as a potential candidate for specific molecular markers to obtain resistance to A. hydrophila bacteria in the giant gourami.